Not So Subtle Differences
by Darth-Taisha
Summary: Non Uchiha-massacre, peaceful Konoha a few years after Shippuden. Hinata had her future all planned out, until someone unexpected came into her life and changed it. Itahina, slight Naruhina. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**~Not So Subtle Differences~**

**Chapter 1**

**Timeline:** AU, a few years after Shippuuden, Hinata and the Rookie Nine are all around 19, Itachi is in his mid 20's. Non-massacre. Peaceful times in Konoha and the ninja world.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, just borrowing some wonderful characters for a while.

* * *

Evening came and went and still no Naruto, he had stood her up again. She sighed as she was beginning to realize he wasn't exactly the most dependable of boyfriends. He often forgot about their dates and when he was in training mode, he would forget she even existed for days on end.

Staring down at her soggy ramen noodles she smiled a little to herself when she thought back to a few months ago when he had finally began to notice her. It was like a dream come true, all of the years of waiting patiently had finally paid off. Out of all of the girls in Konaha, he had chosen her to become his girlfriend.

The first few dates with him she had felt like she was walking on air. To be able to spend time with him and actually talk to him without passing out was something she had always longed for greatly. After a few dates, he asked her to become his girlfriend.

At first it was all so lovely, Hinata would sit there for hours as they walked together and she would listen to his stories and his plans for the future. Shaking her head, she sighed to herself slightly as the thought passed through her mind that he had never asked her what her dreams for the future were.

Frowning to herself, Hinata considered that thought to be unfair to him. He was her boyfriend after all and she _was_ a lot quieter than he was. It was only natural that he would do most of the talking whenever they were together.

It didn't matter that he didn't even know she had just started training to become a medical ninja or that her father was considering retiring in the next few years and making her head of her clan. In her mind, there were other things more important in a relationship, like companionship and loyalty. And to her, there was no one more loyal than Naruto. She felt very privileged he considered her to be one of his precious people.

Feeling a little bit better, Hinata stood up and paid the bill and left a large tip on the table.

"Naruto stood you up again?" Old man Ichiraku said teasing her with a knowing grin on his face as he handed her change to her.

Smiling back weakly at him, Hinata nodded and put her wallet away in her pocket.

Looking up at the sky, Hinata saw there was still a little daylight left outside, she decided to spend the evening at the library and get some studying done before she attended her medic training class in the morning.

As she walked to the library, she thought how she was one of the few jonin's the Hokage had selected to learn how to become a medic. Because of her superior chakra control and her Byakugan, Lady Hokage thought Hinata would be a perfect candidate to learn the skills necessary to become a healer.

* * *

Tapping her pencil aimlessly on the book she was reading she realized she had been staring at the same page for several minutes now and still didn't understand it. A slight frown creased her brow as she realized how important it was for her understand the basic principles behind healing or she would never be able to reach her goal of becoming a battlefield medic.

After a few more minutes of staring at the same page she realized her mind just wasn't on studying tonight. She was just about ready to leave when a shadow fell over her. Looking up she almost gasped when she saw who was standing near her table.

A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she looked up at the stern face of arguably Konoha's most brilliant shinobi and the genius of his clan.

Uchiha Itachi.

She was surprised that he even deigned to talk to her, even though she had met him on several occasions at clan functions. They were only acquaintances, and slight ones at that.

"Hyuuga-san," he greeted her with a polite nod.

"Uchiha-san," Hinata replied with equal courtesy as she offered a seat to him at her table.

Years of extreme social discipline helped her steady her nerves when he sat down next to her.

"May I?" He asked her coolly as he reached over and slid the book she was reading over by him and began reading it.

As he read, Hinata felt slightly mortified that he had noticed she had been having difficulty understanding the chapter she was reading. Straightening her back slightly, she prepared herself for the inevitable condescending tone that she was sure would come out of his mouth. After all, whenever her genius cousin ever explained anything to her, he usually made her feel like an idiot as he did it.

After only a few short minutes of reading through the pages he looked over at her patiently. "What areas are giving you problems?" He asked her quietly, his facial expression was carefully neutral.

Hinata searched his face for a moment and saw no ulterior motive or even a hint of condescension in his expression; he seemed genuine in his desire to help her.

Looking down at the book in front of both of them, Hinata relaxed slightly, now that she knew he wasn't trying to mock her or make her feel like an idiot.

Still, considering _whom_ it was that was helping her, she couldn't help but feel nervous around him. It wasn't every day she had an actual bona fide genius helping her with training. Her hands were only a little shaky when she pointed to an area in the book.

"I-I am having a little difficulty with the concept of exactly how much chakra to apply when it comes to wounds such as these," she said with only a slight tremor in her voice as she pointed to the pictures in the book.

The Uchiha glanced at the pictures for only a moment before he answered her. "Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to your question," he explained to her patiently as he looked at her with calm eyes. "Figuring out the amount of chakra to use in each situation can only come through trial and error."

At his words a sense of relief came over her, she wasn't stupid; she _could_ understand this medical stuff. She had just been trying to learn it all too quickly without going over all of the basics first.

Grateful for his help, Hinata smiled warmly in his direction. "Arigato Uchiha-san."

At the warmth of her smile and tone of voice, he instinctively withdrew from her. "It was no problem, Hyuuga-san," he replied coolly polite as he stood up to leave her.

Hinata had a slight frown on her face as she watched him walk away from her. She couldn't help notice his reaction to her when she smiled at him. It dawned her that he was probably afraid she was suddenly going to turn into one of those rabid fan girls that were always after him and his brother.

She smiled to herself as she thought of Naruto, and knew she wasn't ready to break up with him and join the Uchiha's fan club just yet. Besides, Uchiha Itachi was too far out her league; in fact he was out of everyone's league.

Looking over at the library door he had just exited, Hinata thought it was kind of sad that he was so cautious with people. For a moment while he was with her, she had thought that he was almost kind.

Shaking her head she smiled ruefully at her foolish thoughts, knowing that Uchiha Itachi was not known to be kind. He had a well deserved reputation for being brutally efficient and deadly on the battlefield. In the shinobi world he was almost legendary and there was talk that he was being considered to become the next Hokage after Tsunade retired, along with Naruto.

The thought of Naruto becoming Hokage made her shudder a little. It wasn't because she thought he was weak, in fact Hinata knew he was very strong as he had been trained by Lord Jiraiya himself. It was because of his sheer inability to handle social situations without making some sort of social gaff that made her nervous. Naruto was practically obtuse when it came to learning how to behave properly.

Hinata smiled knowingly to herself and hoped that was where she would come in to help him. When he became Hokage she would be there to help smooth out the rough edges and help keep him out of trouble. It made feel good that she had something valuable to offer to Naruto as he obviously needed her help in that area.

Someone as self reliant and polished as Uchiha Itachi, would never need anything from someone like her.

A little while later, while walking home, she sensed someone was following her and she quietly activated her Byakugan.

Surprised, her eyes opened slightly as she saw the Uchiha was following her almost casually. As she walked toward the gate of her clan compound, she smiled softly to herself thinking it was kind of nice of him to make sure she made it home safely. Especially when the Uchiha compound was clear on the other side of town.

**Author's Note**: I have had this plot in my head for a while now. I need a break from all of the angst of my other stories. Too much death, angst, pain etc. I am really excited to write a story without having to follow the manga super closely. This is completely AU, where the Uchiha family is alive and well. There will be some Naruhina but only a little bit, mostly it will be Itahina.

(Edited: 4/11/12) Almost up to 90,000 hits on this story, thanks so much to everyone who has read it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 2~**

* * *

"Hey you, get the hell off my lawn!" Fugaku yelled out the window as he flung a kunai knife near the group of fan-girls that were trying to peek through Sasuke's bedroom window.

At seeing the weapon sticking out of the yard they all screamed and scattered.

Glaring at his youngest son, Fugaku's mouth was tight as he lectured him. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your _friends_ off my lawn?"

Annoyed, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Tch, I keep telling you father," he said clenching his perfect teeth. "They are not my friends."

"They are fan-girls," Itachi said coldly with a hard look in his eyes.

Fugaku released a frustrated breath. "Well, can't you do something about them? I am tired of them hanging around here all the time."

"We could use them as moving targets for shuriken practice," Itachi said seriously without a trace of humor in his voice.

Shrugging as if he was actually considering it, Sasuke agreed in a bored voice, "Sounds good to me."

"Oh you boys stop it!" Mikoto complained knowing her sons were only joking (or at least she hoped they were). Resting her hands on her hips, her face suddenly became frustrated as she looked at her splendid looking sons.

"No wonder neither one of you has a girlfriend," she said glaring at them. "You treat every girl you meet as if she was one of your deluded fan-girls."

Twin stony faces glared back at their mother. "We do not," Sasuke responded tightly.

"Sasuke, what about that girl you were seeing a few weeks ago?" Itachi asked his brother attempting to prove to their mother they were somewhat normal.

A look of distaste passed over Sasuke's face before he answered him. "Dumped her, too clingy."

"See what I mean?" Mikoto said gesturing dramatically towards Sasuke as she glared at her husband. "Your two boys obviously have no respect for women." Her eyes were clearly laying the blame at his door.

Fugaku wisely kept his mouth shut and as soon as she turned away from him, he slipped out the back door. Mikoto's eyes narrowed after him deciding she was going to have a talk with him later in the evening.

"How am I ever going to get grandchildren if you two won't ever get married?" She wailed in frustration and forced a few fake tears out for good measure.

Having heard this complaint from their mother one too many times, they both rolled their eyes.

Grabbing a hot cinnamon bun from the table, Itachi decided to follow in his father's footsteps and slip out before she really got going.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked in Itachi's direction, before looking innocently over at his mother. "I'm only nineteen, if you want grandkids, Itachi is the one you should be complaining about...not me."

Itachi's eyes narrowed as he peered over at his younger brother, promising some heavy duty retribution later when no one else was around.

Seeing the pissed off look in his older brother's eyes, Sasuke grabbed a biscuit off of the table and ran out the back door. "Don't worry about keeping dinner for me mother, I am going on a mission this evening."

Seeing that the others had left, Mikoto's expression changed as she looked at her brilliant oldest son. Her eyes softened.

"Itachi, come here, son," she said with a pout as she held out her arms.

Feeling like he was practically in diapers again, he had no choice but to obey his mother and submit to her hug. After she released him she looked closely into his remote and distant looking face.

"That look doesn't work with me and both you and your brother know it," she told him knowingly and watched as his face relaxed slightly.

"Why aren't you dating anyone Itachi?" She asked him softly as her eyes pressed for the truth.

Itachi sighed impatiently at her interference in his life. "I am married to my job in ANBU Black Ops, that's why," he told her coolly, daring her to refute him.

Mikoto sighed, "I know you work practically all the time and are always on call or going out on missions. I understand that, I am just worried about you," she admitted to him as she put her hand under his chin. "Will you please just make an effort to meet some nice girl (suitable, her mind hoped) and bring her home for dinner."

In his mind Itachi rolled his eyes, while outwardly he complied. "I will consider it, mother," he replied obediently, his eyes became distant again. "Is that all?"

Mikoto sighed, as much as she loved her boys; they weren't exactly the easiest people to deal with. She watched as he walked toward the door and she remembered something.

"Oh, and Itachi?" She said as she watched him look back at her. "Just make sure she isn't from the Hyuuga clan, your father really hates Hiashi, he thinks he is a…"

Itachi waved her off irritably and walked over and opened the back door. "I know mother, I will find someone other than her."

At her son's mention of _her_, Mikoto smiled secretly. _Interesting_…

* * *

Sitting at an outdoor café in the shade, Hinata consulted her watch again for about the tenth time and breathed out softly in frustration. Naruto had forgotten about her again. Lifting up her soda and taking a sip, she calmly pulled out a medical terminology book out of her backpack and began reading.

Soon the pages of her book became unfocused as she thought about Naruto. She had seen him this morning after they were both done with training and after he kissed her he promised her he would meet her here for lunch.

Hinata smiled to herself thinking how it was difficult to stay mad at him; Naruto was just so nice to her whenever they were together. Breathing out softly she stared out over her book and giggled.

She couldn't help herself, as she watched a group of girls suddenly scramble and hide themselves behind some bushes. With a knowing smile on her face she guessed one of the Uchiha brothers must be nearby.

Sure enough, as she looked down the street she saw Uchiha Itachi heading this way. As he came closer to the café she was at, he turned his head in her direction as if he felt her eyes on him. Hinata began to blush when she felt his cold dark eyes boring straight into hers.

_Oh no,_ her mind cringed as she turned away from him.

Hinata felt mortified at him catching her staring at him like one of his deluded fan-girls and sunk down a little in her seat. Quietly activating her Byakugan she hoped he had kept on walking by.

It soon became apparent her hope died a painful death when he walked through the gate of the cafe.

Scrunching her face and sitting up straighter she saw he was heading her way. Carefully putting on her social mask, she schooled her face to look calm and hastily picked up her book.

"Hyuuga-san," he said politely as he stood next to her table. "May I join you."

Gesturing graciously to the seat across from hers she murmured politely, "of course, Uchiha-san."

Inside her mind was almost in shock that he was talking to her again. They barely knew each other and she had no idea what to even say to him. In Konoha, Uchiha Itachi, was practically a god. Everyone knew of him, but no one really knew him. He seemed to have very few friends and most of those were ANBU comrades or members of his clan. Mostly, he was well known for being private, very private.

"Hyuuga-san, are you waiting for someone?" He asked her politely seeing that she was all by herself.

Hinata sighed softly and felt a little depressed, before her excellent manners kicked in. "Yes," she answered honestly as she looked down at the placemat in front of her. "But you may stay, my…um friend was not able to make it."

Noticing she was no longer alone, the waiter brought them their menus. In silence, they both looked them over and then set them down.

Silence reigned over their table, but Hinata noticed it wasn't uncomfortable. Out of the corner of her eye she saw he was staring off into the distance almost as if he was deep in thought.

The waiter came back and took their order, after the waiter left she felt his eyes on her and she turned to him.

"How did your training go this morning?" He asked quietly, his face was coolly remote.

Surprised that _he _remembered, when no one else seemed to care that she was training to become a medic. Hinata blushed slightly.

"I-it went really well," she stammered out a little, her eyes were grateful as she added, "What you told me...did help a little."

Itachi nodded slightly at her implied thanks. "I was required to learn basic medical healing techniques when I joined ANBU."

Hinata took a small sip of her soda before she looked over at him again with a small dent in her forehead. "I think more people should have to learn basic healing skills, it would probably minimize our losses," she told him seriously. "I am looking forward to learning how treat injuries, so I can help my team-mates if they ever need it."

At her obvious sincerity, Itachi's estimation of her went up slightly. She seemed to genuinely care about improving her ninja skills and protecting her team-mates. He allowed himself to relax a fraction.

"I have to admit, my medic skills have proved to be beneficial on more than one occasion," he told her soberly.

As he talked, Hinata couldn't help but look at his face and the slight emotion that passed over it as he thought about his team-mates. She got the feeling he was deeply committed to protecting them. Knowing that he wasn't some self-centered jerk, made her feel just a tiny bit more comfortable around him.

Looking up, she saw their waiter bringing out their order. They didn't talk much after that, as they simply enjoyed their lunch. Hinata smiled to herself when she noticed he had beautiful table manners. She thought it was nice to eat with someone who didn't slurp his soup and get food all over the place.

She frowned slightly to herself for thinking such a disloyal thought towards Naruto. After all, he has always been by himself and never had a family around to teach him proper manners. Her mouth became determined as she decided that she was going to help him.

After they finished eating, the waiter brought them their bill and Itachi immediately reached for it and handed the waiter some bills. She blushed and thought it was very nice of him; he certainly didn't need to pay for both of them.

It wasn't as if they were on a date or anything.

Just before she could get up from her chair and excuse herself, she heard Itachi mutter something very softly under his breath. Looking over to the area he was staring at, she saw his mother was heading in their direction.

Always happy to see her, Hinata immediately waved hello to her.

Within a few seconds, Mikoto had her arms wrapped around Hinata in a big hug. She had been a good friend of her mother's and always looked for Hinata whenever they went to the same functions around town.

"Oh Hinata, it is so good to see you," she gushed as she stepped out of Hinata's arms and looked her over from head to toe. "And you have grown up to be so pretty," she told her with soft admiration.

Hinata blushed profusely at her praise and offered Itachi's mother a seat. Before she sat down she hugged her son and whispered with cutting sarcasm in his ear. "I thought I told you no Hyuugas."

Breathing out a long suffering sigh, Itachi replied irritably. "This is not what you think it is, Mother."

Raising her eyebrow delicately, Mikoto looked over at both of them in disbelief.

"It's true Mrs. Uchiha…" Hinata began to say...

"Call me Mikoto, dear, Mrs. Uchiha makes me feel… so old," Itachi's mom told her with a slight shudder.

"Um okay, Mikoto…" Hinata said shyly as she glanced over quickly toward Itachi. "As I was saying, this is not a date….I um (insert blush) already have a bo.."

"Hi sweetie!" Naruto yelled loudly from across the street as he waved in her direction and immediately began heading her way.

Not quite understanding why, Hinata mentally groaned as she saw him coming over. For some reason, she did not want Itachi to see her with Naruto. Looking up and seeing Naruto already at their table she practically recoiled in embarrassment when he leaned over and gave her a big wet kiss in public.

"Naruto," she said her voice was heavy with outraged embarrassment when he let her up for air. Hinata looked down at the ground and wished it would suddenly swallow her up. Not only was she mortified, if her father found out about this, he would kill her.

Completely oblivious to the discomfort his behavior was causing his girlfriend, Naruto flopped down casually in the chair next to her.

"Hey Itachi," he said loudly with a grin and wave of his hand.

"Naruto," Itachi replied indifferently as he looked over at the blonde. Inside his mind, he had finally calmed down his urge to vomit and then kill Naruto after he had witnessed him kissing Hinata.

Mentally he frowned as his extreme reaction to what he had just witnessed puzzled him, because she was nothing to him. Who cares if she was dating that idiot Naruto, he certainly didn't.

"Oh hi, Mrs. Uchiha," Naruto said sunnily, when he finally noticed her.

Mikoto smiled, happy to see him. "Hello Naruto."

Mikoto watched as the scene unfolded in front of her with barely restrained glee. She had been watching Itachi's face when Naruto had kissed Hinata and what she saw encouraged her greatly. Apparently, her son did not like what he saw, not at all.

"Please excuse me; I have a mission to prepare for," Itachi said with cool politeness as he nodded to his mother and Hinata and then simply dissipated.

Grinning secretly to herself, Mikoto looked over at Hinata speculatively. It was time she got to know her better; she just hoped her son appreciated the things she did for him.

Smiling fondly over at both of them she positively oozed goodwill. "Oh you guys are so cute together."

Hinata blushed and looked at the ground.

"Uh… thanks," Naruto said hesitatingly, unsure if it was a good thing to be considered cute.

Turning towards Hinata, Naruto told her in a quiet voice, "I have to go now. I just wanted to stop by and let you know I have a mission tonight with Sakura and Sasuke."

At his news, Hinata didn't know if she was happy or sad. She should be sad that she wouldn't be spending time with him this evening, (right?) but for some reason she was almost relieved. Frowning, she realized she needed some time alone to think and clear her head.

"Um okay, Naruto. I guess…I will see you tomorrow then," she told him a little distractedly as he stood up to leave.

"Well, bye then," Naruto said as he walked away completely oblivious that his girlfriend was feeling uneasy.

Sitting back and watching them, Mikoto's sharp eyes picked up everything. She said a quick prayer to her dead friend (Hinata's mother) and hoped she was doing the right thing.

"Hinata?"

"Yes Mikoto?" She replied as she looked at the older woman.

"My family will all be busy tonight, and it seems you have some free time also. How about we go have a little girl time, just you and me?" She asked excitedly with a 'come on, it will be fun' look on her face.

Thinking about all of the things she should take care of tonight, Hinata murmured, "Well, I am not sure…I do have…"

Sensing Hinata was about to refuse her, Mikoto gently cut her off.

"Hinata, please don't say no to me. As you know, I was very good friends with your dear sweet mother before she died and I… (sniffle) really just want to spend some time getting to know you," she pleaded with her with big sad eyes knowing Hinata wouldn't be able to say no, if she laid it on thick enough.

Thinking about Hinata's soft heart, she felt a little uneasy as she wondered if getting her together with her oldest son was the best thing for her. Itachi wasn't exactly a softy; in fact she knew he could be downright scary at times.

Firming her jaw, she had seen how comfortable they were together before she intruded upon them and had a feeling they were perfect for each other. Besides, if they ever got married, she just knew they would give her the most darling little grandchildren.

Looking at Hinata she could see her weakening so she turned the screw on her emotions even tighter and gave her the puppy dog look.

Unable to say no to such a look, Hinata's shoulders sagged. "Okay," she said finally giving in.

Inwardly Mikoto smiled as she looked at her future daughter in law and began dragging her away.

"Come on Hinata, Midori's is having a sale on shoes; I was just on my way over there when I ran into you and Itachi…"

**Author's Notes: **Okay, I know I took some liberty with Mikoto and Fugaku's characters, but with Itachi and Sasuke as main characters, someone has to be OOC. I did notice Mikoto was pretty spunky in one of the recent anime episodes where she kept getting on Itachi to do his homework. Anyway, I have half of chapter 3 already written, if I get enough people interested in this story, I will post it very soon. I hope you guys like this one, I had a lot of fun writing it lol.

Edited: 12/11/12


	3. Chapter 3

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 3~**

* * *

**AN:** _Many thanks to all of you who left me feedback. I promised you a quick update, so here it is..._

Hinata walked up to their large home on the Uchiha compound and saw Itachi's father was pounding a "KEEP OFF THE GRASS!" sign with a mallet into the ground.

As she was heading toward the front door she accidentally stepped off the sidewalk and one of her feet trod on a few blades grass.

In a flash Mr. Uchiha was in her face with his Sharingan activated. "What the hell do you want?" He asked her in a menacing voice as he blocked her path.

Petrified, Hinata stared into his bright red eyes and stammered, "I-I am…"

"Sasuke and Itachi are not here!" He cut her off rudely as he turned away from her. "You damn females are always sniffing around here like a pack of bloodhounds in heat," he complained as he began walking back to his finish pounding his sign in. "And get off my lawn!"

Deeply embarrassed, Hinata stood there still as a statue and was about to leave, when Mikoto came outside and stopped her.

"Fugaku, leave her alone," she yelled at husband. "Hinata's here to see me."

Reaching out toward the young Hyuuga, she opened up her arms wide. Hinata feeling like she was a little girl again, immediately ran into them for a motherly hug.

"Now, now dear, don't let him scare you, he's just really touchy about his lawn," Mikoto crooned soothingly as she led her into the house. Looking behind her, she glared long and hard at her husband.

Hinata's eyes roamed around as she followed her into the house and liked what they saw. The house was very large, with wide open rooms and traditional décor. The over-all house, although, not as imposing as her own home, was very welcoming with softly muted colors and comfortable furniture. Unlike her house, it felt like a home.

"Um Mikoto…do you need any help with anything?" Hinata asked shyly as she followed her into the kitchen. She really liked to cook and didn't want to be a burden to Mikoto.

"Yes dear, if you would like to help set the table, I would appreciate it," she replied gratefully as she handed a few plates to Hinata.

"Ah, it is so nice having another girl around," Mikoto told her wistfully with a soft smile. "No one else ever helps out around here."

Hinata frowned slightly as she set the small table. "Not even Itachi? He… um…seems to be very responsible to me," she said, remembering how he watched over her as she walked home the other night.

Mikoto laughed. "Oh, Itachi doesn't live at home anymore, he has his own house now, across the street," she told her as she pointed in its direction. "He comes home for meals though, when he is not on missions."

Unable to resist, Hinata activated her Byakugan and searched his house and found he wasn't at home.

Mikoto watched Hinata carefully and smiled secretly to herself. "You should see his house, it is so clean and empty it looks like no one lives there," his mother told her sadly hoping to pique the young woman's interest.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye at Hinata, she told her impishly, "What it needs is a woman's touch and a couple of noisy children running through it…then it would be a home."

Hinata blushed slightly as her curiosity was piqued; she kind of wanted to see what his home looked like. Going over to the window she looked out in the semi-darkness at the house next door. She saw the house was large, with a lot of windows and was completely dark inside. It looked lonely to her; it sort of reminded her of _him_.

Hinata shook her head slightly as she laughed ruefully to herself, thinking she had better stop thinking about the Uchiha like that or she was going to end up becoming like all of the other besotted females in the village.

"Hinata?" Mikoto's voice called to her from inside the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind going into the dining room and inside the top right drawer, there are some napkins, would you get a couple for me?"

Hinata walked into the main dining room and saw a cabinet and found the right drawer, when she opened it she found the napkins along with an old photograph.

Unable the resist the urge to look at it, she pulled it out. As she looked at it her mouth formed into a soft smile, it was just so adorable. The old photo showed very young Itachi carrying Sasuke who looked to be a toddler, on his back. What amazed her about the photo was they were both smiling.

Resting the photo on top of the napkins she decided to show Mikoto. When she went back into the kitchen she handed the napkins and the photo to her.

"Oh, I haven't seen that photo in so long," Mikoto exclaimed softly as she took the photo from her. (Actually, she had just placed it in the drawer a few hours ago so Hinata would see it.)

Her eyes went soft and hazy as she remembered her boys when they were younger.

"Itachi doted on his brother," she told Hinata as she gently touched the picture. "Still does actually, they are very close."

Hinata listened to her and looked at the picture; she really didn't know either of them all that well. She occasionally saw Sasuke, but he hardly ever talked to her when they were around each other. Like his brother, Sasuke was very private and mostly kept to himself.

Mikoto gave a sad little laugh, "The bond between them is so strong, they seem to speak a language that only they understand." She looked up at Hinata with darkened eyes, "I worry about them."

"Why?" Hinata asked her in confusion. Sasuke and Itachi seemed to be practically perfect to her and the rest of the village. They were both amazingly intelligent, good looking and brilliant shinobis. She couldn't imagine why Mikoto would ever feel the need to worry about them.

Mikoto sighed out softly. "Please activate your Byakugan Hinata and tell me what you see."

Hinata obeyed her and scanned around the complex. She noticed all along the perimeter in trees, there were people stationed looking in. Sucking in her breath, she realized they were fan-girls.

She looked over at Mikoto with wide eyes.

"Terrible, isn't it?" She asked her. "They practically have around the clock surveillance on my boys and it has been like this for years."

"Can't you have them arrested or something?" Hinata asked her.

Mikoto shook her head in frustration. "Believe me, we've tried. But because they stay outside the clan walls, they are not considered to be trespassers and as long as they stay out of the compound they are free to watch us as much as they want," she explained slightly irritably.

"I thought your husband was in charge of the police force in Konoha, I am surprised he can't do anything about it," Hinata said puzzled.

"I know dear, ironic isn't it?" Mikoto said grimly amused. "Anyway, I think you see why they are both so private, especially Itachi." Mikoto said with shadows in her eyes. "My boys are always on display, not only around here, but also whenever they go out around the town or on missions."

Hinata looked at her with a surprised light in her eyes, she had never thought about them that way, but at least now she knew why they had problems trusting people.

Seeing that Hinata understood the situation, Mikoto decided to go deeper, realizing she may never get another chance to talk to Hinata like this.

"Itachi, carries a load that is far heavier than his brother does, since he is my husband's heir. He has the expectations of the clan on his shoulders, as well." She told her as she put her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Out of all people, you should understand what that person can do to a person."

Hinata nodded sadly. Sometimes carrying the crushing weight of her family's expectations had been almost more than she could take. "Yes ma'am, I'm afraid I do understand," Hinata replied beginning to feel emotional.

Mikoto nodded, "I know you do dear, over the past years I think we have all seen too much bloodshed and death. And Itachi, was just a small boy when the Third Shinobi war was going on. So, at a very young age, he witness terrible things and I am afraid it changed him."

"How so?" Hinata asked her solemnly.

"Well Itachi, has never been outgoing, but when he was little I used to hear him laugh occasionally," she told her thinking over Itachi's past. "I can't even remember the last time I heard him laugh...it's been so long."

Mikoto watched Hinata closely as she told her these details, knowing instinctively she would never tell anyone. Unfortunately she could never tell her how Itachi, years ago had saved the clan from uprising against Konoha, by going to the Third Hokage and working out a peaceful solution to the hostilities. Till this day, she still didn't know how her son had pulled it off. The whole incident was highly confidential and no one involved was allowed to speak about it.

After having this little talk and spending time with her, Mikoto just knew Hinata was her son's best chance at finding happiness in this life. Reaching over, she wrapped her hands around hers.

"Let's go have dinner and then since it's so late... I think you should stay the night."

Hinata was about to disagree with her when she saw a stubborn light enter Mikoto's eyes and realized she might as well just give up now. She had to admit, part of her kind of liked being here, she felt comfortable, almost as if she belonged here.

Smiling weakly, she gave in.

"Oh good," the older woman said cheerfully. "We are going to have so much fun tonight. The men are all gone and it is just you and me…and I know… let's go bake a chocolate cake!"

Hinata smiled at her enthusiasm as she followed her down the hall.

* * *

A few hours after she went to bed, Hinata heard a scuffling noise coming from the kitchen. Activating her Byakugan, she recognized Itachi and Sasuke's chakra. Concerned about what they were doing, she decided to go check on them.

After putting on the long robe Mikoto gave her to wear, she raced out to the kitchen. When she came around the corner she gasped when she saw the table was overturned and Sasuke was on the ground and Itachi was sitting on him with his with his fist in the air getting ready to punch him.

Calmly sensing her presence they turned to her.

"Hinata," Sasuke said impassively, she saw the tiniest bit of relief in his eyes and it almost made her laugh.

Itachi stared at her for a moment before he caught himself and nodded with flawless formality.

"Hyuuga-san."

Staring at him, noting how relaxed he looked and his normally perfect hair was a little messy, Hinata blushed slightly before responding. "Uchiha-san."

Itachi turned his eyes back on his brother before he got up off of him. He clearly told him, he was lucky for now. He stood up and walked over to the refrigerator.

Sasuke's sharp eyes took in how they had been staring at each other. He looked bored as he looked over at both of them.

"Since you are staying the night at our house, Hinata, the two of you should stop being so formal."

Understanding he was being indirectly mocked, Itachi glared at his brother.

Hinata blushed and then looked over at Itachi shyly. "Um, you may call me by my name… if you like."

Itachi nodded to her respectfully and responded, "You may do the same, Hinata."

For a moment they stared at each other before Hinata blushed and turned away.

"Are you hungry?" She asked them with a smile. "I could heat up some leftovers for you."

"Thank you Hinata," Itachi told her politely as he sat down at the table. He watched as she turned her back to them and began moving comfortably around the kitchen. He frowned to himself when he realized how right it seemed for her to be here.

His eyes lingered over her shiny blue-black hair and slim form and slowly he felt a tiny crack begin to form in the barricade he had built around himself.

Beside him, Sasuke watched his brother as he stared at Hinata and smirked.

"So Hinata, how long have you and Naruto been dating?" Sasuke asked her impassively.

Next to him, Itachi snapped his chopstick in half.

"Oh, about a month now," Hinata responded shyly as she set plates of food in front of them.

Beginning to feel very uncomfortable, Hinata put the leftovers back in the fridge and washed her hands.

"Well, good night," she told them before nervously lowering her eyes and walking out of the room.

Itachi glared over at his brother for interfering with them.

Sasuke finished his food in silence, before turning toward his brother.

"Hinata has liked the Dobe, ever since we were all in the academy together."

Cold silence greeted his words. Itachi got up and put his bowl in the sink.

"Good night, brother," he told him calmly before he left the house.

Sasuke smirked knowingly, "Good night Itachi."

* * *

Fugaku entered the dining room early next morning just as Hinata was preparing to leave.

"Goodbye, Mr. Uchiha," Hinata said a little nervously just before leaving the house.

"Hyuga-san," Fugaku told her with a nod.

_That's right, keep on walking girl,_ he thought to himself as he watched her leave, his eyes trailed her, making sure she wasn't stepping on his precious lawn. It wasn't that he had anything against her personally; it was her father he couldn't stand. For in his mind, in a world filled with assholes, Hyuuga Hiashi was the worst.

Sending a hard glare over to both of his boys Fugaku said, "Oh no!"

Itachi and Sasuke looked over at their father with identical 'here we go again' expressions.

"Not even NO, but HELL NO," Fugaku continued deliberately with his nostrils flaring and tight lips. "That Hyuuga girl is off limits to both of you, period. I will not countenance an alliance with that arrogant, asshole, Hyuuga Hiashi."

_Oh thank you, darling!_ Mikoto thought gratefully as she listened to her husband's rant. Glancing over at Itachi's face she just knew her husband's words were going to have the opposite effect on him. By making Hinata off limits, her husband had just made her seem that much more desirable to their son. Fugaku just didn't know it.

"Well, the boys have to get married sometime… and you know how I want grandchildren, Fugaku," Mikoto complained to her husband with a pout, while trying to contain her joy.

"As long as it isn't with a Hyuuga, I don't care who they marry," he told her bluntly, thinking he was being very reasonable and open-minded.

Turning to leave, he muttered irascibly to himself under his breath. "And what do we need grandchildren for? There are too many Uchihas infesting the village already."

Rolling her eyes at his insensitive remark, Mikoto suddenly said "Oh," as her husband's complaining reminded her of something.

"I forgot to tell you, Shisui's wife is expecting again and they are having a little party tonight to celebrate," his wife told him firmly.

"What! Again?" He exploded with an irritated grimace. "Don't these people ever stop!"

Laughing, Mikoto followed him out the door. "Oh you, stop it." She said with a big grin as she gently pushed him towards the door.

"Well its true Mikoto, our clan breeds like damn rodents, it seems like someone is always breeding and having babies."

"I _like_ all of the babies and children," she replied with narrowing eyes. "And you're going."

Fugaku made a face. "I have a meeting," he lied.

"Cancel it," his wife told him with her arms folded.

Sighing he gave in. "Okay," he relented before giving her a naughty look. "But you owe me," Fugaku told her softly as he slid his hand down her arm.

Giggling, Mikoto looked up at him and whispered something back to him.

A wicked light shone in his eyes as he raised an eyebrow. "Now?" He asked her.

Smiling secretly, his wife nodded.

Looking over, he saw Itachi and Sasuke were still there calmly eating breakfast. They had seen this scene play out so many times before, they didn't even respond to it.

Clearing his throat noisily, Fugaku turned to them. "You boys have a good day, um, your mother and I have some things to discuss," he told them before dragging his wife off to their room.

"Whatever," Sasuke said in a bored voice as he took his plate over and put it in the sink. Turning around he saw his brother had an almost thoughtful look on his face.

"What about Naruto?" Sasuke asked him flatly.

Itachi gave him a look with a slightly raised eyebrow. They both knew if he wanted Hinata, Naruto would soon become a non-issue.

* * *

Shortly after Hinata returned home, a branch member told her she was needed in her father's study for a family meeting.

When Hinata entered the study, her father gave her an icy stare for making him wait a few seconds to start the meeting. Sighing, Hinata took her seat in between Neji and Hanabi.

Inclining his head regally, Hiashi looked at his offspring and nephew with the benevolent look of someone being extremely generous.

"As you all know, we will be having our annual Valentine's Day ball," he announced while pinning down each of them with hard eyes, he added sternly. "I expect each one of you to do your part in preparing for the event."

At his words, Hinata's shoulders drooped. She knew that most of the duties of putting the event together would fall to her. Her cousin and sister always had more important things to do.

Looking up at her father, her eyes suddenly became brighter when she realized, this year she had a boyfriend and she would get to dance with him and not be alone on Valentine's Day.

"My secretary put together an agenda and a guest list; please examine them to see if he missed anything," he told them as he had his secretary hand out the papers. "Look them over closely; I do not want any mistakes regarding this event."

Hinata's eyes quickly scanned the guest list and was relieved when she saw the Uchihas were on it. She was hoping to ask Mikoto to go shopping with her and help her find a dress to wear. Last year she just wore the same old lavender dress she did on the previous year.

Her face was glowing when she thought of what she wanted to do this year. She pressed her lips together thinking how the Uchiha family always was invited, but never attended the event. It was as if everyone involved knew the invitation was just a courtesy for appearances only. After all, her father could hardly snub a family as prestigious as theirs.

Hinata made up her mind; she was going to make sure they came this year.

Her eyes quickly scanned through the list and her face fell when she went over it twice and did not see Naruto's name listed on there. Her father did not invite him.

Her mind quickly recalled the events of last year, he had been invited and had accidentally spilled wine on an important diplomat from the land of Lightning. She sighed, knowing it was going to take practically a miracle to get him added to the guest list after doing something like that.

"Um, father?" Hinata asked timidly.

Hard white eyes stared back at her, he raised his eyebrow.

"I-I noticed Uzumaki Naruto's name is not on the guest list."

A look of refined distaste flashed over his face, "No he is not."

"But father, he is one of the people being considered as the next Hokage… I do not think it wise of us to exclude him," Hinata said very reasonably with demurely lowered eyes. Inside she was shaking in fear for standing up to her autocratic father.

Next to her, Hanabi sent her a look out of the corner of her eye telling her she was an idiot and had handled the situation all wrong.

"Oh you don't do you?" He told her in a dangerously quiet voice. "Well, I do not consider our event appropriate for someone of his background. I am sure you remember what happened last year?"

Next to her Hanabi gave a muffled laugh behind her hand.

Hinata sighed and closed her eyes. "Yes father, but…"

"I said no Hinata," his voice was final.

Hiashi looked at his oldest daughter closely; it was unusual for her to stand up to him. It made him suspicious.

"Why do you want him to attend?"

Silence greeted him, as Hinata didn't want to say the words.

"Because he is her boyfriend," Hanabi said finally answering for her.

Now that her secret was out, Hinata steeled herself for her father's response. He was not going to be happy with her at all.

Seeing his cousin's obvious distress, Neji spoke up. "Uncle, while Naruto may be socially inept, he _has_ become an exceptionally strong shinobi. I agree with Hinata, he should be invited."

At her cousin's defense of her and Naruto, Hinata sent him a grateful smile.

Hanabi smiled secretly to herself, thinking this year's event was suddenly becoming more interesting by the minute.

"Father, I agree with them. After all, you would not want to offend Lady Tsunade; she _is_ a big supporter of his," she reminded him shrewdly.

Hiashi looked over out the window for a moment as he considered their words. Hanabi especially, was right. It would not be wise to offend the Hokage, who seemed to be exceptionally fond of the Nine Tails container.

Turning towards all of them he breathed out calmly. "Fine, I shall add him to the guest list," he said capitulating. Pinning his eyes on his eldest daughter, they became icy. "You are not to see him any longer, do I make myself clear."

Holding back her emotions, Hinata nodded and closed her eyes to keep the tears back.

"You are all dismissed," Hiashi told them and began looking over some papers on his desk.

As she ran back to her room, tears threatened to spill out of her eyes, and her face became mulish at how unfair her father was being to Naruto. Her protective instincts kicking in on high gear, she clung to the idea of Naruto as her boyfriend even tighter. After all, he needed her.

**Author's Note:** Thanks so much for all of the reviews, you have all made me soooo happy. This chapter was much more difficult for me to write as I had to lay down some groundwork for the plot. Anyway, I plan to take their romance slow and have some fun with it. Thanks again for reading.

**Edited:** 4/11/12


	4. Chapter 4

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 4~**

_**(Uchiha Clan Party, Part 1)**_

* * *

_**Warning: **Some characters may be out of character, due to having much happier lives than they do in the manga. I try my best to be consistent, but sometimes it just isn't possible._

* * *

Flushed with happiness, Hinata looked at the antidote she made for a deadly poison with pride. It had turned out perfectly. She was finding that while she was only adequate when it came to healing people, she was very talented when it came to making ointments and antidotes for poison.

On the way home from training her mood began to plummet a little when she realized she didn't have anyone to share her newfound talent with. Not her sister, father, cousin or even her boyfriend because none of them could even remember that she was training to be a medic. She thought it was sad that the only person who ever bothered to ask about was only an acquaintance.

oooOOOooo

"Ah there you are…" Mikoto said when she saw her boys enter the house. She could tell they had just finished training and knew they would be starving.

_Good,_ she thought hoping that food would make her eldest more open to the plans she had for him.

Glancing over at her sons she noticed Sasuke seemed to be in an abnormally good mood, while Itachi looked to be almost distracted. Doing cartwheels in her mind, she had a pretty good idea of what, or should she say who, was distracting him.

Seeing the way their mother was looking at them, both Itachi and Sasuke sat down at the kitchen table warily.

Setting a big plate of food in front of both of them she sat down at the table casually sipping her tea while they ate.

"So, how did your training go?" She asked cheerfully.

Taking a bite of food, Itachi wondered what torture she had in store for them. Judging by the way she was smiling he knew it probably was going to be something that was extremely tedious.

"What do you want mother?" Sasuke finally asked her bluntly. Like his father, he didn't believe in beating around the bush, he preferred plain speaking. He knew if it was left to his brother, he could play this subtle mental game of cat and mouse with his mother all day if he had to.

Laughing guiltily, their mother smiled openly at them. "Relax boys, it is nothing really, I just need a tiny favor."

Itachi rolled his eyes as he has heard that from her before, many times.

"What do you want?"

"Well, it is something wonderful actually," she told him dissembling a little. "Our little party for Shisui and his wife has become so large that Aunt Uruchi doesn't have the space for a large party so…"

"No," Itachi told her bluntly. "You cannot have it at my house."

_Damn,_ Mikoto swore to herself while her lips tightened slightly.

"Well, what if we have it outside on your lawn, it will be so nice with the dock and the lake behind it," she asked wistfully.

Itachi just stared at her, his eyes still told her no.

"We wouldn't even have to use your house," Mikoto told him reasonably.

Watching her eldest son carefully for signs he was weakening she continued on a little desperately. "You know we cannot have it at here, because your father can't handle that many people stepping on his lawn."

"No," Itachi told her simply. "He will just have to deal with it."

Undaunted, Mikoto wasn't about to let all of the scheming she did this morning go to waste. She was about to tell him a couple of solutions when Sasuke stopped her.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke knew why his brother didn't want to have it near his house.

"Itachi, you are just going to have to set traps around your house and your bedroom to keep them out," he told his brother impatiently.

Itachi looked at his mother and knew she wasn't going to give up and his brother's idea would give him a chance to get rid of some of his fan-girls.

"Fine, you can use my lawn, but the house is off-limits," he told her as he got up from the table.

"Oh, thank you, dear," she told her son as she wrapped her arms around him. As she hugged him she just knew some day he was going to be grateful for all of her meddling.

Over her shoulder Itachi gave his brother a look letting him know he knew exactly what she was up to. He waited patiently for her to release her hold on him so he could go home and start setting up some traps…

Mikoto went to follow him out of the house when Sasuke's voice stopped her.

"I know what you are up to mother."

Mikoto went still as tried to assess just how much he knew.

"You are trying to get Itachi to marry Hinata," Sasuke stated in an annoyed voice heavy with disapproval.

Chuckling knowingly, she should have known her youngest would figure out what she was doing sooner or later.

Alarmed, as a thought passed through her mind, she looked at him with big eyes. "Do you think he suspects what I am doing?"

Sasuke snorted, "Of course Itachi knows what you are doing," he told her flatly. "He's known from the beginning."

Mikoto smiled in delight as she thought of something. "But he is letting me do it, so that means …he is going along with it."

"Whatever." Sasuke told her in a bored voice.

"I need you to do something for me Sasuke, it is important," Mikoto asked him seriously.

Sasuke looked back at her with a feeling of dread.

"I need you to invite Naruto and Hinata; I think you should also bring Sakura too," she told him as she thought of something. Happy she no longer had to be secretive around him, she told him conspiratorially, "I am convinced that Hinata is more in love with the idea or the dream of her with Naruto, than she actually is with him. It is just a matter of time before she realizes she belongs with Itachi…and us."

'Tch, you just want grandchildren from them," he told her cynically with a glare. Getting up from his chair he complained under his breath. "You better not do this to me down the road."

Overhearing his complaint, Mikoto gave a sad little laugh. "Of course, I am going to do it _for _you Sasuke. I am your _mother_; it is my job to see that you are happy."

* * *

[Later at Shisui's party…]

As if in slow motion, Itachi slowly glanced over when he felt her presence. His eyes drank in the sight of her and he realized she was becoming more beautiful to him every time he saw her. He wondered how he had never noticed how her quiet, gentle ways, seemed to outshine everyone else whenever she was near him.

Taking his eyes off of her, he looked slightly to her right and saw her holding hands with Naruto. His stomach lurched violently as extreme nausea mixed with a strong urge to greet the blonde with something razor sharp in his hands.

Quickly pulling himself together, he realized his mother would be upset with him if he gutted Naruto at her party, so he decided to avoid the couple altogether and mingle dutifully with the guests.

A few hours later while standing inside the gazebo, Itachi gave a bored sigh as he remembered why he always avoided these clan events like the plague. Listening to his Aunt Uruchi as she rattled on endlessly about Shishui's twin boys and the new baby on the way, he only gave her half of his attention. Nodding occasionally when his aunt seemed to expect it, his eyes kept drifting over toward the dock where he saw Naruto and Hinata talking to Sasuke, Sakura and a couple others.

Watching Hinata as she stood silently next to Naruto, he noticed how the blonde idiot dominated the conversation and never even spoke to Hinata or tried to include her in the conversation. A slight look of distaste passed over his face as he heard snatches of their conversation from all the way in the middle of the yard.

_Damn they are loud._

The thought crossed his mind as he watched Naruto and Sakura start arguing back and forth and wondered how his brother and Hinata put up with both of them. Glancing back over at his aunt, who hadn't even stopped chattering long enough to take a breath, he waited until she finally did and smoothly excused himself.

Feeling edgy and unwilling to deal with anymore of his well-meaning, but extremely annoying relatives, he decided to go inside his house to be alone for a while. He was just heading on the path to his house when his older cousin stopped him.

Turning around, he was genuinely glad to see him. Shisui was one of the few people he actually liked being around. His cousin was the very best of men and out of most people he knew he considered it to be an honor to have him as one of his closest friends and relatives.

"Congratulations," Itachi told him sincerely as his older cousin tried to cuff him on the head just like he has always done ever since they were very young.

"Thank you Tachi," Suishi replied with a warm smile. Looking almost smug, he teased his favorite cousin.

"Marriage and kids are great; you should try it some time," he boasted with an easy smile.

Itachi face became edgy and a little tired as he shot a long suffering look at him warning him to back off. Practically all evening long he has had to listen to the same nonsense about how he should be thinking of getting married… just before one of his relatives would casually mention how they had a daughter or niece who would be absolutely perfect for him.

It was all becoming so tedious…and predictable, like some badly written play; except it wasn't one, it was his life. He just wished they would all leave him alone and let him find a wife, on his own, in his own time.

The teasing look in Shisui's eyes faded as he watched Itachi's face, and knew his reclusive cousin didn't like people meddling into his affairs. However, after watching Itachi throughout the evening, his curiosity had become piqued.

His normally calm and unfailingly polite cousin seemed almost moody and a little irritable. The other thing he noticed that made him very curious to see was that no matter who Itachi was talking to or where he was standing his eyes always drifted over to a certain Hyuuga with long indigo colored hair.

_Hmm, very interesting. Uncle Fugaku is going to be so pissed when he finds out about her._

Smiling secretly to himself and blatantly disregarding his cousin's obvious reluctance to discuss anything about marriage, children or his personal life, Shisui bravely pressed on.

"You know Itachi, you should give the single ladies of Konoha a break and just pick one already," he teased him with false exasperation in his voice.

Breathing out in irritation, Itachi told him offhandedly. "They bore me."

"Really?" His cousin asked him in mock disbelief as he pointed to the dock. "I've noticed when your eyes glance over towards a certain female; it's definitely not boredom I see in them.

Unable to stop himself, Itachi's eyes glanced over back to the dock, before he answered him.

"She's already taken."

Snorting out in disbelief, Shisui raised his eyebrow at the ludicrous statement Itachi just made. What girl in her right mind would choose that knucklehead, Naruto, over his cousin? He was about to tell his cousin what an ass he was being and he should just go after her, when he heard his wife come up behind him. A look of dread passed over his face before he turned to greet her.

"Um hi, …honey…" he said in a falsely cheerful voice, his eyes darted over her pinched face as she held their fussy one year old twin boys.

"Don't you honey me, you baka!" His wife screeched angrily. "Where have you been? I have been looking for you everywhere!"

Looking guilty he had been caught running from her, he mumbled. "Oh…I've been around."

"Whatever," she snapped impatiently, her eyes narrowed menacingly as they told him he was so gonna get it later. "It's your turn to watch the boys."

Shisui's mouth looked mulish as he reluctantly took the babies from her and watched as she set the diaper bag down by him.

"Make sure you actually watch them this time," she reminded him sharply with a glare just before she walked off.

At her remark he looked a little sheepish, remembering how the other day he had fallen asleep while watching them and they had gotten into the diaper bag and sprayed baby powder all over the house.

Feeling amused dark eyes on him, he realized he had forgotten all about his cousin standing next to him.

"I think I will remain single a while longer," Itachi told him coolly.

Shisui was about to argue with him when saw his cousin's face suddenly change as he looked toward the path.

Turning around he saw the Hyuuga heiress heading in their direction. Nudging Itachi who was openly staring at her, he mused sarcastically.

"Yeah right, you look like you are hooked to me."

"Hello Itachi," Hinata said as her warmly lit eyes were glued to the babies in Shisui's arms.

Shisui crowed to himself silently when he heard her call his cousin by his first name. Itachi rarely gave that privilege to anyone outside of the family and even then not everyone in the clan was allowed to call him by his name. His cousin was extremely selective about the people he allowed into his inner circle.

"Hinata," Itachi replied with careful politeness knowing his eagle-eyed cousin was watching his every move. Noting the longing in her eyes as she stared at the babies, he introduced her to his cousin.

"Hyuuga Hinata, this is my cousin Uchiha Shisui and his two sons, Naoki and Shou."

Shisui, never one to miss a golden opportunity when he saw one, decided to relieve himself of watching the boys and help his cousin out all at once. Winking quickly at Itachi, he turned and greeted her with a polite smile on his face.

"Hyuuga-san, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said smoothly above the crying noise one of his sons was making. "Would you like to hold one?"

Hinata made a delighted sound as she eagerly reached out and took one of the babies from him. Cuddling little Naoki next to her, she looked over at his father with luminous eyes.

"Arigato Uchiha-san, he is so adorable," she gushed out happily as she gently patted the baby on his back.

Itachi felt a momentary twinge of jealously as he saw the baby pressed against her soft bosom.

Seeing Itachi was a little distracted, Shisui asked Hinata, "You wouldn't mind watching the kids for a few minutes would you?"

"Of course we wouldn't mind," Hinata replied generously for both of them before Itachi could tell his cousin to go find somebody else to pass his kids off on.

A triumphant glint passed through Shisui's eyes as he held Shou out to him. Outmaneuvered by his cousin, a look of extreme distaste crossed Itachi's face as he reluctantly took the baby from his cousin.

"I will be back in a few minutes," Shisui promised them quickly as he kicked the diaper bag with his foot toward them and raced back toward his buddies and freedom.

Itachi's body was rigid as he held the baby slightly away from him and eyed him with extreme caution as if the kid was going to explode at any time. Looking over at Hinata, he saw she had little Naoki completely calm and happy as she rubbed and patted his back. He was impressed, as he saw the baby was almost asleep.

Trying to imitate what Hinata was doing, Itachi accidentally pounded little Shou on the back too hard and the kid immediately began wailing and screaming at the top of his lungs. Lips tightening with annoyance and feeling he had met the limits of his patience, Itachi activated his Sharingan and efficiently put the kid to sleep.

Hearing the baby had stopped screaming, Hinata looked over at Itachi with soft eyes and an impressed smile on her face.

"Wow, you are really good with children," she said complimenting him.

Beginning to thaw a little towards the baby in his arms, Itachi thought he should probably pay him back someday with some special shuriken training when he got older.

"It was nothing," he replied modestly.

Sighing happily she looked over at him.

"I just love children, don't you?"

He was saved from answering when he sensed a hard glare directed at him from behind. Turning around he saw his parents heading in their direction and his father looked to be less than pleased with his choice of companions.

"Ah Hinata dear, how are you?" He heard his mother say before wrapping both her and the baby in a big hug. "Aww, look who you have with you…little Naoki, isn't he just the sweetest baby ever," she said as she gushed over the little guy.

Seeing his mother had Hinata distracted and already knowing what his father was going to say to him, Itachi looked over at his father and waited for the lecture to come.

"I told you no Hyuugas!" Fugaku whispered predictably with a severe frown on his face. "What are you trying to do Itachi? Commit patricide?" He asked his son snidely trying to manipulate him. "I'd rather commit sepukku, than form an alliance with that arrogant Hyuuga bastard."

Glancing over at the men and seeing Itachi's lips begin to tighten ominously, Mikoto stepped in to distract them before things got really out of control. Lifting her eyes toward heaven, she prayed a quick prayer as she reached over and tugged on her husband's sleeve. A few seconds later a movement caught her eye, and her eyes lit up when she saw it was the perfect answer to her prayer.

_Thank you Kami!_

"Oh dear, I am afraid someone is sitting on your lawn," she told him with a touch of relief in her voice as she pointed in the direction of their yard.

"What!" Fugaku roared out in outrage as he turned to look at them. "Can't they read the damn sign?"

His blood pressure continued to rise when he saw they were actually leaning up against his "Keep Off The Grass" sign and they were kissing. Seeing red (literally) he forgot about yelling at his son and strode off toward his house.

"Hey you punks, go find somewhere else to make out, damn it!" He yelled at them as he went out into his garage to make a bigger sign. "Idiots!"

Slightly disturbed, Hinata giggled nervously as she watched the couple suddenly jump up and scatter from the area. She knew exactly what they were going through and she felt a bit sorry for them. In her mind, Mr. Uchiha was a very scary man.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she patted the baby's back and was horrified when little Naoki suddenly burped and vommited out a projectile that looked a lot like split pea soup all down the front and the back of her shirt. It was even in her long hair.

"Eww gross!" Naruto said in a loud disgusted voice as he got closer to them. Behind him was Sasuke and Sakura who appeared to be discussing something which had Sakura looking very pissed and on the verge of tears.

Hinata stood there in extreme discomfort as she held out the baby to Mikoto who had found a towel in the diaper bag and was wiping him off. Hinata felt mortified to have people see her like this.

Especially Itachi, she admitted in confusion to herself, realizing she was beginning to admire him a great deal.

Naruto only made her feel worse by pointing out to everyone in the area she was covered in puke that looked like mashed up peas.

"Shut up Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she jumped forward and smacked him on the head. Since she couldn't take out her anger on Sasuke, she chose her usual target to vent on.

"You're making her feel bad, you idiot!" She growled.

Naruto densely looked over at Hinata and couldn't see anything wrong with her besides she was covered in puke. As he looked at her, his mouth turned down into a grimace.

Shaking his head he disagreed with his team-mate. "No way Sakura, you're wrong. Hinata is just fine, you are just mad because Teme told you to go screw yourself."

Watching them argue out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke silently congratulated himself on a job well done. He had spent all night working on Sakura trying to get her pissed enough that she would want to leave and take Naruto with her and give his brother some alone time with Hinata.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto hissed sharply as she smacked him upside the head. "Watch your language."

Her eyes grew dangerous as she rounded on Naruto and Sakura.

"If the two of you wake up the babies, you will have to deal with me," she said quietly as she stepped between them, her eyes daring them to argue with her.

They immediately shut up and listened to her.

"Good, Naruto, take Sakura home now," she told them firmly and watched as they took off without a glance to anyone.

Mikoto had a slight grin on her face, before she turned to her youngest.

"Sasuke, you take Shou from Itachi," she directed him as she took Naoki from Hinata and picked up the diaper bag. "You and I will find Shisui, while Itachi takes Hinata to his house to get cleaned up."

Sasuke seeing that look on his mother's face knew not to argue, but he still looked glum as he took the baby from Itachi. "You're welcome brother," he told his brother quietly with just a trace of resentment in his voice, letting him know he dealt with Naruto and Sakura all evening just to help him out.

Itachi's eyes opened slightly in surprise, seeing that his self-centered brother actually did something to help him. It made him realize his brother was finally beginning to grow up and think about others.

With a look of approval gracing his eyes, Itachi nodded to him before turning to Hinata.

"Come on Hinata, let's get you cleaned up," he told her softly and realized suddenly he must be feeling something for her, because even covered in green puke; she still looked beautiful to him.

_**Author's Note**_: I just want to say thanks again for all of the support all of you have given me regarding this story. It is so fun to not have to write about angst and death and stuff like that. Anyway, I had to split this chapter into two parts because I don't want to rush over the itahina time coming up. I hope you get my humor, if you don't that's okay too.

**FYI**: I am definitely working on IG and Way Of The Tea, please forgive me for not updating them sooner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 5~**

* * *

Feeling numb and confused, Hinata followed him almost mechanically down the path to his house. Her mind was reeling as she remembered how Naruto didn't even say goodbye to her. It was like he forgot she even was there. She realized that was becoming a disturbing pattern in their relationship lately.

As Hinata thought about the last few weeks, she knew something was wrong with her relationship with Naruto but with her, old habits die hard. Her brain automatically began to make excuses for him. She started telling herself that he could be thoughtless at times but… he could be sweet too. Naruto was kind and always had been someone she looked up to for inspiration while growing up. _Maybe he just needed to be taught how to be a little more sensitive_…

She sighed, and looked up and frowned as she noticed something about Itachi. The Uchiha clan symbol on his back stayed almost straight as he walked. His normally smooth and perfect gait seemed off.

It almost seemed to her that he… was angry. But w_hy?_

Itachi stared straight ahead as he walked up to his front door. Now that he had calmed down a bit, he realized it was a good thing his mother had intervened when she did and dealt with Naruto, or he was going to give the blonde a well deserved lesson on how to treat women. (In his mind he was excluding fan-girls, they were a whole different species of human being and they didn't count.) The thoughtless way he treated Hinata was inexcusable and it only firmed his resolve that she didn't belong with the idiot.

Shaking his head slightly, Itachi realized he didn't dislike Naruto. He knew Naruto was very loyal to Konoha and to his brother. Like most people in Konoha, he had always made allowances for his lack of social skills and never let his awkward manners bother him. But the way he had been treating Hinata lately was intolerable. What made it worse in his mind was he didn't know why she allowed him to get away with it.

Not wanting to go there, he knew even as intelligent as he was, the female brain was incomprehensible to him. He wasn't even going to try to figure her reasoning out.

Glancing behind him to check on her, he saw she wasn't paying attention to where she was going and he automatically placed a hand under her elbow to guide her.

"Relax Hinata, you will feel better after you get cleaned up," he told her in a calm emotionless voice.

"Thanks," she responded gratefully as his thoughtfulness and reassuring touch pulled her out of the emotional fog she had been in. Feeling slightly better she watched him open the front door.

Hinata followed him into the pitch dark house and watched as he went over and turned on a light. Expecting to see a room, she blinked a few times; when she only saw a plain and very long hallway.

Seeing Itachi was already heading down the hallway, Hinata nervously began to follow him and sensing something strange going on in the house she activated her Byakugan.

"Um…Itachi?" She asked him hesitantly. "Why… do you have a genj…oh!"

Horrified, she opened her eyes wide in shock as she looked outside his bedroom door and saw an almost nightmarish scene of several bodies of teen-aged girls strewn all over the hallway.

For a few seconds she looked at the bodies and then looked back at him and felt the urge to flee as she felt very disturbed by what she was seeing.

Out of the blue, a couple of them twitched and moaned causing relieved and nervous laughter to bubble out of her when she realized they weren't dead. Taking a long deep breath, she looked over at Itachi who was forming hand-signs to release the genjutsu over the house.

"Kai," he said and she felt the pulse of his chakra and watched as the long plain hallway disappeared and his real house came into view.

"Fan girls?" She choked out as she gestured towards the twitching pile of sleeping girls.

"Yes," he replied impassively, though inside he smiled grimly, knowing these stalkers will never bother him again after what he just put them through.

Hinata touched his arm softly, "You have to deal with them a lot don't you?"

Sighing irritably, Itachi looked at her. "Yes."

Hinata looked at the pile of girls and didn't feel sorry at all for them at all.

"It… was wrong of them to enter your house…" she told him with a slight amount of anger in her voice.

"I agree," he told her impassively; relieved she didn't get upset about how he dealt with them.

Stepping over a couple of them he reached over and opened his bedroom door.

"Come on, you can use my shower and borrow some of my clothes," he told her as he walked into his bedroom.

Following him in hesitantly, she blushed a little at being alone with him in his room. As she looked around his room her jaw dropped when she saw how meticulously clean and tidy his room was. His bed was built in ground below the floor and you needed to step down to get to it. Her mouth quirked when she saw it was tightly made with almost military style precision.

Smiling to herself in amusement, she was beginning to wonder if his father wasn't the only eccentric in the family. Looking around she had never seen a more spotlessly clean and orderly room in her life.

Somehow instead of being odd, his perfectionist tendencies made him seem more human to her. He was so brilliant and talented; she thought it was endearing to see he also had flaws too.

Itachi pulled some clothes out of his closet and waited for the inevitable comments about how tidy or clean his room was. Throughout most of his life, his family had teased him about his excessive need for cleanliness and order. Their constant remarks about it, was one of the things that drove him to build his own home.

"Itachi, your… um, room is very nice…and clean," she told him diplomatically with a shy twinkle in her eyes. "It suits you."

"Thank you," he responded wryly as he thought to himself he had just been called a neat freak by her in the most polite way possible.

Hinata's lips quirked as she looked at his face until she laughed as they stared at each other in mutual liking. They stood there staring at each other for a few moments before he began to walk toward the bathroom and she followed him.

Coming through the door Hinata's eyes opened wide in stunned appreciation. The bathroom was enormous and astonishingly beautiful in an aesthetic zen sort of way. There was an enormous tub made of marble, a huge shower and a small cedar sauna in the corner. The ceiling was made of cedar with large skylights built in to let in natural light during the day. The floors were made of natural looking tiles and slate stones.

"It is so beautiful" she told him with a touch of awe in her voice. Looking over at him she detected a slight amount of pride in the way he was watching her reaction to the room.

"You designed it yourself, didn't you?" She concluded with a small knowing smile.

"Yes," he replied abruptly as though uncomfortable with sharing a side of himself that barely anyone else knew about.

"You are very talented Itachi," Hinata said wistfully as she realized again just how far out her league he was. He was just so insanely gifted with practically everything he did, how could any normal person ever live up to him? Thinking of her many faults, she knew she never would be able to.

Looking over at him, she suddenly felt out of place in his "perfect house" being covered in baby puke. Looking down at the ground she waited for him to leave so she could take a shower.

"I will go make us some tea," he told her as he began to leave and pointed to a long cabinet. "There are towels in there; use whatever you need. Throw your shirt in the hamper, I will get it washed and return it to you."

Hinata watched as he closed the door behind him and quickly began stripping the nasty shirt off of her. Her face turned into a moue of distaste when she realized the puke had penetrated her shirt all the way to her bra too. Having no choice but to go bra-less she rinsed them both off as good as she could and threw them in the hamper.

When she opened the hamper she saw one of his uniforms and held her nose when she saw it was absolutely covered with blood and other disgusting stains she couldn't even begin to recognize.

Smiling a little to herself, she knew that he had wanted her to see that he wasn't always so perfect and he _could_ relate to how she was feeling right now. _How thoughtful of him._

It was beginning to dawn on her with frightening clarity that he was someone she could come to like a great deal, possibly even more than Naruto.

Her mind immediately rebelled at the notion that there could be anything more between them. Someone as brilliant as Itachi would grow bored with her before they even started. Unlike Naruto who was needy beyond measure, she didn't feel she had anything to offer someone as gifted as he obviously was.

However unwilling she was to be another one of his ridiculous fan girls Hinata realized she _would_ give up a lot to be able to be his friend and spend time with him and especially his mother. The two of them had a way of making her feel liked she belonged around here.

Lady Mikoto had always had a special place in her heart from the time she was small. After the death of her mother, she was one of the people who always checked on her and made sure she was doing alright.

Hinata smiled softly while shampooing her hair as she remembered one sweet thing Mikoto had done for her in the past. It was shortly after her mother had died and there was a mother-daughter social at the Konoha Garden Club where her mother had been a member. They had been planning on going before her mother had become sick and died. On the day of the event, Mikoto had showed up unexpectedly with a cute little dress for her and begged her to go with her since she only had awful boys at home and didn't want to go alone.

Her eyes began to tear up as she remembered how the following year, Mikoto tried to take her again but her father refused to let her go. He told her, her time would be better occupied with training rather than useless frivolity.

After that she rarely saw her anymore, but Mikoto always spoke to her and hugged her whenever they would meet.

Sighing to herself, she wished her father would have let her spend more time with her growing up; it would have made her childhood so much less lonely. At least she had Kurenai-sensei to help fill in the gap.

Finishing cleaning up, Hinata realized she was taking a long time and Itachi was waiting for her. She hurried out of the shower and got dressed. A blush covered her cheeks when she saw the Uchiha symbols blazing on the dark blue shirt. There was one on the front and a large one on the back.

As she put it on she hoped when she got home, her father didn't catch her wearing it or she would get the lecture of her lifetime. Her father did not like Uchiha Fugaku at all and the mere mention of his name would set him off. Hinata always felt he was a little jealous of Fugaku because he had two brilliant sons, whereas he was stuck with only daughters and one of them (her) was weak.

Snooping around the bathroom, Hinata found a comb and couple of hair bands. After combing her wet hair and putting it up in a bun, she hurried out of the room. When she opened the door to the hallway, she saw all of the fan-girls had been removed and the path was clear.

Shaking her head and giggling to herself, she had to admit she was never bored whenever she was around this family. It seemed like something unexpected and exciting was always going on.

As she walked down the hallway she noticed the floors were made with an expensive and rare bamboo material. It seemed the Uchiha clan and Itachi himself were very well off, yet unlike her clan they just didn't seem to flaunt it as much.

Hearing the clanking of metal, she followed the sound until she saw the light in the kitchen. When she came through the door she saw Itachi was at the stove heating a tea kettle and was reaching into a cabinet for some cups.

When he heard her behind him he turned to look at her and Hinata's pulse began to speed up at the glimmer of warmth she saw in his eyes. Her throat became dry as she watched his eyes become almost possessive as they slowly traveled from her face to the Uchiha symbol on the front of the shirt.

Feeling flustered and confused by the way he was staring at her, Hinata cleared her throat nervously. She began to relax as she watched his eyes change as he retreated behind his wall of coolly polite reserve which was his normal expression around her.

As Itachi turned away from her and poured tea for them, he realized he had frightened her a bit by looking at her the way he did. He had been a little stunned when he saw her come in wearing his shirt with the Uchiha symbols on it, as if it belonged on her. To him, it looked like she was born to wear it.

His sense of honor prohibited him from actively pursuing her until she dumped that knucklehead Naruto, yet it wouldn't stop him from setting some of his plans in motion while he had the opportunity to do it.

Itachi brought their tea cups to the table and sat down across from her.

"Do you feel better?" He asked her as he handed her a cup.

"I do," she told him gratefully. Laughing softly she couldn't resist teasing him. "I made sure I cleaned up after myself."

Itachi's mouth quirked slightly, pleased that she was becoming more comfortable around him. Peering over at her he saw she was admiring his kitchen.

She stood up and ran her hands lightly over the hard granite counter tops.

"Would you like me to give you a tour?" He asked her politely, he wanted to be able to picture her in his mind in every room of his house.

"I'd like that," she told him softly with her eyes cast down; covering up the eagerness she felt to be able to see all of his house.

As Hinata followed him throughout the house, she fell in love with the simple yet graceful design that had the house built in the shape of a large rectangle with the center area completely empty except for a small conservatory/sunroom in the middle of the courtyard. A covered wooden deck surrounded the courtyard and she noted it would be perfect for entertaining large amounts of people.

The inside of the house was quietly elegant and built with costly materials, but almost completely empty. Mikoto was right-it did look like no one lived here. Looking at the hallway that connected all of the rooms together she could just picture in her mind a small dark haired child riding a scooter around it in circles like a race track. Smiling ruefully to herself, she figured that probably wouldn't be allowed to happen because she had a feeling Itachi was just as obsessive about his bamboo floors as his father was with his grass. They were waxed to a perfectly glossy shine with almost no marks on them.

After he took her to the fourth empty room, Hinata just had to ask him.

"Um Itachi…how come you don't have any furniture in your house?"

Shrugging his shoulders a little, he looked at her impassively.

"I am hardly ever here, most of the time I come here to sleep and go to my parents house for meals." He looked at her and could see her mentally decorating his house, just like he expected she would do.

"Well…maybe you should let your mother decorate for you, she has excellent taste," she blurted out wistfully thinking that it was odd that he should have a beautiful house like this and not even furnish it. It just seemed wrong to her.

Standing there staring out the window, Itachi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her looking around the room. He was pleased to see the carrot he had dangled in front of her was working.

"I will consider it," he told her in a carefully noncommittal voice.

Hinata bit her lip as she tried to work up her courage to ask if she could help decorate his house when he suddenly walked out of the room and asked her to follow him.

"I have something for you." She heard him say as she followed him into the kitchen. Hinata felt a little confused and excited as she watched him walk across the kitchen and pull out a notepad (the size of a large steno pad) and hand it to her.

Curious, Hinata looked with wide eyes from the notepad up to his face.

Almost casually, Itachi opened it and showed her.

"These are the notes I took when I went through the medical training course," he told her offhandedly, flipping toward the back of the book he pointed to another area. "In the back, I included some advanced training on chakra manipulation I thought you might find useful."

Hinata looked at the book in her hands and almost felt herself tearing up. Not only was he the only one who ever remembered she was taking a medical training course, he was also helping her so she could pass it.

Feeling a little choked up, Hinata looked up at him with gratitude shining in her eyes.

"Arigato Itachi," she said when she was able to speak again.

"You're welcome Hinata," Itachi responded with remote courtesy. Inside he was pleased his gift went over so well with her, he could tell the other day at lunch when he talked to her passing the class meant a lot to her.

Hinata's eyes lit up as she glanced through the book, she was delighted when she saw how the detailed notes broke down the jutsu. She could have wept when she saw how well his notes explained each technique.

So engrossed with reading the notes, Hinata didn't even hear Itachi when he came up in front of her and closed the notebook in her hand.

"Come Hinata, you can study it later," he told her firmly.

Hinata looked up at him and her breath caught in her throat at how close he was to her. Beginning to feel slightly warm, she took a small step back from him and mentally chastised herself for acting like a fan-girl around him.

"I will take you home now," he told her as he began turning out the lights.

When they walked outside and put their sandals on, Hinata noticed the party was still going on. She was hoping he would let her stay a little longer as it looked so inviting and festive in the nighttime with torches and colorful paper lanterns hung above them on poles.

"Um Itachi,…do you mind if I stay a little longer," she asked him tentatively.

Nodding his consent he put his hand under her elbow and led her down the path. Hinata felt a lot better now than she did when she walked on this path earlier. She was much cleaner and she realized she had completely forgotten about Naruto and his treatment of her earlier.

Hinata looked down at the shirt she was wearing with the Uchiha symbol blazing brightly on the front and back of it and began to feel a little conspicuous. _Maybe I should just let him take me home now_, she thought to herself nervously.

Sensing her nervousness, Itachi placed his hand around hers and pulled her along.

Hinata followed behind him and looked at their hands linked together and felt confused.

"Do you like dango?" He asked her in a carefully neutral voice.

"Yes," Hinata responded in a slightly relieved voice when she saw there was nothing lover-like about his attitude toward her he was probably just making sure she didn't get lost in the crowd.

Smiling a little ruefully at how fanciful she was being about him, she looked around and noticed many people around them had stopped talking and were openly staring at them.

_Oh no! They do think we are a couple,_ she thought as she could tell by the looks people were giving them.

"Ignore them Hinata, it's nothing," Itachi told her before removing his hand from hers and grabbing a couple of dango sticks off of a large table of food.

Hinata looked around and began to relax again when she noticed people had stopped staring at them and the buzz of conversations began to start up again.

"Thank you Itachi," she told him as she took a stick from him. Reaching over to the platter by him she took another one and smiled at him. "I really like dango."

Seeing she was hungry he got a plate from the end of the table and they began to pile up food on it. Hinata grinned at him when she saw him pile a handful of almond cookies on it. They were one of her favorites too.

Hinata took the plate from him and he carried their drinks as they walked down to the dock. Itachi noticed the party was beginning to get a bit rowdy from all of the alcohol being consumed; he didn't want her to be subjected to the inevitable comments about the two of them being together.

Walking down the dock and looking over the water, Hinata felt the night had an almost magical feeling to it. The water sparkled under the moonlight and the glow of the lanterns hung around the dock danced across the waves.

"It's lovely out here," she told him as she took off her sandals and hung her feet over the dock.

"It is," he said agreeing with her. Following her example he took off his sandals and hung his feet over the side. He grinned wryly to himself thinking the last time he did this he was about ten years old.

Itachi reached over and put the plate of food between them and they ate in companionable silence as they looked out over the sparkling water.

Hinata glanced over toward the right on the shore and saw some youngsters practicing their fire jutsu.

Itachi saw the direction of her eyes and leaned over towards her a little.

"In my clan it is considered a rite of passage to achieve mastery over our fire jutsu," he explained to her. Looking out over at the children, he watched as one of them set a bush on fire next to one of the elders teaching them the jutsu.

Hinata giggled as she watched the adult with them scramble to put it out with some water from the lake.

Looking over at Hinata, Itachi became even more convinced that she belonged here with him. He realized he felt more relaxed being around her than he had in a long time. Glancing back over toward the children practicing their fire jutsu, that burned out bush reminded him of something from his and Sasuke's past.

"Once, when Sasuke was younger, he trained so hard that after he went to bed one night he performed the jutsu in his sleep and set his room on fire," he told her out of the blue as he stared out over the water and remembered the event.

A muffled laugh escaped her and she clapped her hand over her mouth as she pictured a young Sasuke accidentally torching his bedroom.

"Did you ever do that as a child, Itachi?" She asked him with a happy smile lighting her face and immediately realized she blundered when she saw a dark shadow pass over his eyes at the mention of his childhood.

Hinata looked over at him and realized like her, he must not have had the happiest of childhoods. She had lost her mother and had to deal with her father and all of the pressures of being the clan heiress while growing up.

Looking over at Itachi, she wondered what he went through as a child. Her heart went out to him as she realized it had to have been something very bad.

Hinata picked up his hand and he looked at her. She relaxed slightly when she saw the sadness was gone from his face.

"No, I never set my room on fire," he told her calmly as if the last few moments never happened. "But a few years ago, Sasuke and I got into a fight and we incinerated our father's lawn."

Horrified laughter escaped her as she immediately knew his father's response had to be god-awful. The very thought of it all made her double over with laughter. When she could talk again, she asked him, "What did your father do when he saw his lawn was destroyed?"

Itachi looked over at her and the corner of his mouth tugged into a grin.

"Sasuke came to stay at my house for a few months until he calmed down," he told her simply.

Hinata could just picture all of it in her head and she grinned happily back at him.

oooOOOooo

Behind them in one of the tents, Mikoto watched them out on the dock almost delirious with shock and joy. Her brilliant stick in the mud son, had made a girl laugh. She just couldn't believe it. It was a miracle and she smiled smugly to herself, knowing that she knew all along they were perfect for each other.

_Well done darling_. She mentally told Itachi as she looked his way.

"Oh no!" She groaned out loud when she saw her husband striding towards the dock with angry looking strides. She began to race towards them to intervene when she stopped and threw her hands up in joyous relief and cast her eyes up heavenward when she saw the ANBU member suddenly appear behind her son.

"Thank you Kami!" She said gratefully as she watched her husband stop heading towards them.

Laughing with insane relief to herself, she ran towards her husband, she guessed all of those visits to the shrine lately had really been paying off. Before she made it to her husband she watched as Itachi dissipated and Hinata stood up and began putting her sandals on.

Mikoto looked around and found Sasuke nearby talking to Shisui. Catching his eye she gestured for him to come over to her. When he came close to her she told him urgently.

"Sasuke, I need you to escort Hinata home. Itachi had to go see the Hokage and cannot do it."

"Whatever," he told her in a bored voice. The party was becoming annoying as hell, with everyone trying to get him to hook up with their daughters. He was almost grateful for a chance to escape.

"I'm going to go soothe things over with your father, while I need you to steer her clear of him." She told him as she hurried over to Fugaku who was scowling at Hinata as she walked off of the dock.

Narrowing her eyes as she looked at him, Mikoto warned her husband through clenched teeth when she caught up to him.

"If you say one mean word to her, I will make your life hell on earth."

Fugaku stared at his wife and balled his hand into a fist in frustration.

"I told him no Hyuugas damn it! Why does he always have to go against me Mikoto?" He told her in a frustrated voice as he breathed out a long deep sigh.

Mikoto, always the peacekeeper in the family, placed her hand gently over his balled up fists. "She makes him happy, dear. Didn't you see them together?"

Fugaku sighed and almost caved in and then Hiashi's arrogant face appeared before him and his lips began to tighten ominously.

"I don't care Mikoto, I will not have that asshole Hyuuga as a relative."

Mikoto shook her head and felt like smacking him for being such a selfish idiot. "Then you will lose your son," she told him with a look that told him he had better stay the hell away from her until he straightened up.

"Tch, I still have Sasuke," he told her callously and stomped off towards his garage.

Putting her hands in her face, Mikoto took a deep calming breath. Sometimes dealing with these pigheaded men in her family really drove her insane. Striding off, she went back to the party to find something chocolate to eat.

oooOOOooo

"Mother says I am to escort you home," Sasuke told Hinata with very little enthusiasm when he reached her.

"Um, okay," she told him knowing that Mikoto would not let her walk home alone anyway so she might as well not argue with him.

As they walked along in silence, Hinata looked over at him as she remembered something from earlier.

"Um, how is little Naoki doing?" She asked him with concern in her eyes.

Sasuke made an irritated noise. "He is sick, Shisui forgot to tell any of us that he has the flu."

"Oh dear, the poor little guy," Hinata replied immediately worried about the baby boy.

"He is fine, Hinata," he told her and smirked a little when he remembered how Shisui laughed when he told him what happened. Shaking his head in disgust, Sasuke realized even Shisui was trying to match make for his brother_. Pathetic_.

Glancing over at Hinata as they walked under a street light, Sasuke noticed the notebook in her hand. Curious, he didn't see her with it when she first came to the party with Naruto.

"What's in the notebook?" He asked her.

Hinata blushed slightly, "oh, Itachi just gave me some notes he took from when he went through medical training."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the big whopping lie his brother had told her. Itachi never had to take notes about anything; he remembered everything in perfect detail after only hearing it one time. It was almost the same for him, but Itachi's memory was even sharper than his.

"Do you mind if I see it?" Sasuke asked her and she handed it to him.

Stopping under a street light, Sasuke scanned through it and quickly learned all of the medical knowledge in it. Surprisingly, there was actually quite a bit of stuff in there that he didn't know about.

As he got near the end, his mouth quirked slightly when he figured out something about the diagrams his brother drew in there. At first, he thought they were just badly drawn pictures and then he saw the hidden letters in them.

His brother had encoded a hidden message to her, but it would only be really obvious to someone like himself or maybe someone good at breaking codes like Shikamaru. For a normal person like Hinata it would probably take a few days, because Itachi had left her one symbol that was an obvious anomaly to catch her attention and make sure she saw it. Then she would have to figure out the rest.

Holding back a smirk, he was looking forward to razzing the hell out his brother tomorrow when he saw him. As he handed her back the notebook he sobered slightly as he realized how much his brother cared about her. Looking at her as she hugged the notebook to her chest, he decided it was time he told her the truth.

"Hinata, I need to tell you something," Sasuke told her seriously just before they came to the gate of her clan's compound.

"Yes Sasuke." She said looking up at him with a slight frown on her forehead because of his solemn tone.

"The Dobe has been trying to break up with you for a couple of weeks now," he admitted to her and watched as she paled and hoped she didn't faint on him.

"He didn't want to hurt your feelings when he found out you liked him, so he decided to go out with you and make you break up with him," he told her bluntly, but his hand on her shoulder was surprisingly gentle.

Deeply mortified, embarrassed and shocked all at once, Hinata put her face in her hands and felt like screaming at how stupid she had been. _Why didn't he tell me in the first place?_ The whole situation made her feel sick to her stomach.

"He still likes Sakura," she said softly, her statement was said as a question.

"Yes," he responded simply and watched her contain her emotions with quiet dignity and realized his mother was right; she was perfectly suited to his brother in many ways.

Hinata looked over at Sasuke grateful he had told her the truth. She wondered just how long Naruto was going to string her along before he told her what he was doing.

Breathing out a ragged breath, she pulled herself together.

"T-thank you for…b-being honest with me, Sasuke. I will talk to Naruto tomorrow," she told him with a polite bow before she turned around and ran through the gates.

Hinata was an emotional wreck when she entered the house. Putting her hands over her face she began to run down the hallway when her father's angry clipped voice stopped her cold.

"Hinata come here and explain to me why you are wearing _that symbol,_ on your person, in my house!"

_**Author's Note**__:_ This chapter was sooo long, but a lot happened in it. I have a large chunk of the next chapter already written and will post it tomorrow or the next day if I get enough response. My goal is to finish this story by the end of February since it ties into Valentine's Day. To all of you who left me feedback, thank you so much, I have been feeling a little burned out lately and all of you motivated me to finish this chapter.

**Manga Alert**: (spoiler) (Thanks to TsukiyoUchiha for letting me know the new manga was out. I am just glad Sakura (slut) is not in the big picture and Kakashi showed up. Naruto will probably show up next and start crying like a little girl or maybe he will try out his new fainting jutsu lol. What an ass. Anyway, if anyone of you want to talk about the new manga, please feel free to PM me. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 6~**

* * *

_Careful what you ask for…you might just get it…_

Feeling emotionally exhausted and drained Hinata used the last vestiges of her strength to pull herself together. Wiping her eyes with her hands she turned around and began walking back toward her father's office with all of the enthusiasm of someone facing a firing squad.

Hinata stood before the door and waited for her father to look up from his desk. Without even looking up from his papers he told her to enter. When Hinata bowed respectfully before him, a wave of nausea washed over her out of nowhere.

"You wanted to see me father," Hinata said weakly as she kept her eyes demurely lowered.

Hiashi's hard eyes raked over his eldest daughter and felt his anger begin to burn even hotter when he noted she was missing one of her undergarments.

"I asked you a question a moment ago," he told her tersely. "Now start talking."

"Um father, I am not feeling well…may I please sit down," Hinata asked weakly stalling for time as she tried to think of what she should tell him.

"No you may not."

After taking a ragged breath she began,"well…I went to a…gathering at the Uchiha clan compound…"

"What business do you have socializing with that clan, Hinata?" Hiashi asked her icily cutting her off.

"Well… um… father, you never told me I couldn't socialize with them so, I thought…it would be alright to go over there," she pointed out quietly to him.

Tapping his fingers on his desk he continued to look at her with disgust in his eyes at what she was wearing.

"That is true, I will grant you that. However, that does not explain why you are wearing that symbol and missing some _undergarments?_"

Hinata's face paled at what her father implied.

"Father, I didn't do anything improper. I was forced to change clothing when the um baby I was holding…(insert mortified blush) vomited on me," she told him defending herself and lifted up her face toward him almost rebelliously.

Seeing her standing in the light, it struck him almost suddenly that she had grown up and was becoming a very beautiful woman. Sneering slightly, he realized he had not noticed it until now because she always acted so shy and timid around him; it was hard for him to see her as an adult.

As he stared at her a suspicion began to enter his mind about the Uchihas. He would not put it past them to look at one of his extremely well-born daughters as a possible bride for one of their sons. In his mind alliance with that family would be intolerable.

"Hinata, you are not to associate with them any longer," he told her with absolute finality in his voice.

At his words, Hinata felt her world begin to collapse around her. Even though she just had started hanging out over there, she felt so welcome (except for Mr. Uchiha) and comfortable, it had been like…she belonged with them…and Itachi had been so nice to her. She didn't want to give them up without trying to make her father see reason.

"Father, they have a very high social standing in Konoha…I cannot just ignore them if I meet with them in public," she reminded him bravely.

"Yes Hinata, I am aware of that," he conceded. "You may speak to them in public; in fact you must continue to be civil to them. I do not want any rumors surrounding our two clans that we are feuding. However, you are not to enter their compound for any reason."

Hinata posture drooped before him, and his sharp eyes pinned down on her and he saw how much their friendship meant to her.

_Damn them_, he thought and felt a glimmer of respect for Lady Mikoto and saw she had already insinuated herself into his daughter's heart.

A spurt of jealousy and anger tore through him, it was bad enough Fugaku and Mikoto had two exceptionally strong and gifted sons, he was not about to let them have one of his daughters too.

"Hinata, if I hear your name linked even remotely with either of that man's sons. I will immediately contact the elders and have them begin arranging your marriage to your cousin Hajime."

Hinata felt tears burn behind her eyes at his threat. If she married her cousin she would have to leave Konoha forever and move away for the rest of her life.

Nausea began to crash over her again and her body began to shake when Hinata realized that she was becoming very ill. Hoping to put off this discussion with her father, she closed her eyes and leaned over and vomited in the trash can next to his desk.

Recoiling from her in disgust, Hiashi leaned back in his chair.

"Disgusting—have you been drinking Hinata?" He accused her coldly.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand Hinata shook her head no.

"Forgive me please, father, I am ill and need to be excused," she told him weakly with quiet dignity and thanked Kami for not having to make a promise to her father she didn't intend to keep.

Hiashi's mouth turned down in disgust, as he waved her off. "Yes. Go to your room and you are not to come out until you are no longer contagious. I do not want your _illness_ passed onto the rest of the clan," he told her making her feel as if she were some sort of unclean leper who would infect the whole population with her presence.

Feeling too unwell to even let him get to her, Hinata used what was left of her strength to run to her room. She had just made it to the bathroom when she threw up again. When she was done, she cleaned herself up and got ready for bed.

When she opened her bathroom door Hanabi was waiting for her and she ran into her open arms.

"Oh Hanabi…" Hinata cried out as her little sister led her to the bed and all of her misery poured out of her as she babbled out the nightmare she had just walked through.

Hanabi listened to her sister's incoherent melt down and began to feel anger build in her towards Naruto. As Hinata blabbed out the rest of her night to her, she began to smile inside when she kept hearing Uchiha Itachi's name mentioned over and over.

_Hmm, interesting_.

"Shh Sis, let me take care of you. You go lie down and I will get some medicine for you," Hanabi told her and became concerned when she saw Hinata immediately go and lie down on the bed. She realized her sister must be feeling pretty sick because she never let anyone ever take care of her when she was ill. In fact, she never let anyone ever do anything for her, Hinata mostly kept to herself and suffered through things alone.

Hanabi walked over and felt Hinata's forehead and found it was very warm. She hurried over to the medicine cabinet in the main bathroom and found some medicine to reduce the fever and ordered some tea and soda water from one of the branch members.

After soaking a cold wash cloth and wringing it out she carried everything into her sister's room. She looked on the bed and saw her sister was already beginning to fall asleep. Hanabi shook her shoulder and forced her to wake up.

"Hinata, wake up and take your medicine." Hanabi ordered her in a bossy voice and lifted her head up and shoved the pills in her mouth and forced her to drink.

"Okay Hanabi." Hinata said weakly with a small smile at her sister. Hanabi's lack of bedside manners and forceful personality made her unsuitable to take care of sick people in the clan, so it usually fell to her to do it. Still, even if Hanabi was being bossy it made her happy to see she was trying to help her.

Hanabi laid the damp cloth on her sister's forehead and told her to go back to sleep. Throughout the night while she waited for her sister's fever to go down, she decided she was done with Naruto treating her sister like dirt. _How dare he treat her like that, like she was some sort of nobody?_

While she was ranting in her mind about what she would like to do to Naruto, her eyes picked up on a journal lying on the floor. With nothing better to do she picked it up and began to learn how to be a medic ninja. The more she read through it the more she became impressed with whoever wrote it, because the jutsu was broken down so flawlessly you would have to be an idiot to not be able to understand it. When she got to the back she read the advanced training material with sheer delight.

The material was like a key to her and it unlocked some of the mysteries of chakra control that had been holding her back from learning some of the more advanced techniques of her clan. It was brilliant.

Looking down at her sleeping sister she also wondered why the person who wrote it was asking her sister to decorate their house for them in code. Shaking her head she wondered what the big deal was about it; why not just ask her to do something like that out in the open.

_Who knows?_

Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to let Hinata find the message for herself because it made no sense to her at all. She also wanted to see how long it took Hinata to find it.

In the morning after a long hard night of taking care of her sister, Hanabi called for a branch member to deliver some messages for her.

"Mikio, take this one to Uzumaki Naruto and this is how I want it delivered…" she told him with a feral grin.

She handed the branch member another letter. "Please deliver this today and be discreet about it, I don't want my father to know I sent it," Hanabi told him quietly.

"I will deliver them immediately Hanabi-sama," the branch member said obediently. He didn't even think to tell her father, because everyone in the clan knew she was going to be the next clan heir and leader. She was always obeyed without question, or else. Hanabi-sama may have only been fourteen, but she was not to be messed with.

"Thank you Mikio," Hanabi told him formally and went back to taking care of Hinata.

* * *

[The Uchiha household, the next morning…]

Sitting next to Itachi at the breakfast table, Sasuke recalled seeing his brother's clone callously dump a bunch of fan-girls in the middle of the road during the party.

"How many did you catch in your trap last night," Sasuke asked his brother before taking a bite of his breakfast.

"Ten," Itachi replied in a bored voice as if they were discussing the weather.

Smirking evilly, Sasuke asked. "What did you do to them?"

The corner of Itachi lips turned up in the slowest of smiles before he replied.

"I gave them what they wanted."

"What?" Sasuke asked him with a puzzled expression on his face, for once what his brother told him made no sense to him whatsoever.

"I showed them what married life to me would be like," Itachi replied patiently.

"You are the most eligible bachelor in Konoha," Sasuke told him in a flat disappointed voice, he was hoping his brother had put them through something torturous as hell. "I don't see how making any of them an Uchiha would a bad thing."

Itachi sighed and then smirked.

Tap.

"Ouch," Sasuke complained after his brother had activated his Sharingan and tapped him on the forehead. Images began to flood his mind and Sasuke watched, curious to see how his brother viewed marriage and women.

In his limited experience, Sasuke only knew women as neurotic fan girls, obsessive team-mates and the bizarre stuff his mother had told them about women a few years ago when she had been on an intense crusade to get him and Itachi in touch with their feminine sides.

At first, Sasuke felt bored as he watched in his mind as his brother married one of the fan-girls and then another picture soon followed of her being heavily pregnant.

The new bride had become extremely fat and was sitting on a toilet crying and was shoving down ice cream non-stop as his brother stood outside the door. "Get out and make me dinner." He heard his brother's frigid voice tell her through the door.

He smirked when he figured out where his brother had came up with this part, thinking about all of the guilt trips his mother had put on both of them throughout the years, blaming any extra weight she gained on when she had been pregnant with them. And how whenever she got upset about something, she would automatically drown her sorrow in a tub of chocolate ice cream.

The next scene showed a series of events as time passed and the Uchiha bride kept getting fatter and fatter and the pictures showed the Uchiha symbol on her shirt grow exponentially larger as she gained more and more weight.

The bride began to wail as she tried to squeeze in some jeans and they were way too tight. Crying hysterically she pulled out a bigger size and they were still way too small. Finally putting on some one size fits all pants she waddled out to the kitchen and pulled out an enormous piece of chocolate cake and begins stuffing it in her mouth as tears pour down her fat face.

Itachi stoically entered the next scene, where the corpulent bride was surrounded by crying babies and kids of all ages destroying the house, with a baby on one hip and a broom in the other. Her pimply face a dull mask of pain and misery.

"Where's my dinner?" He asked her coldly as he looked at her like she was lower than a speck of dirt on the floor. "Uhg…you disgust me."

Sasuke watched impressed, thinking his brother was really sick and twisted as the girl set the baby down and threw down the broom.

"I hate you!" The bride screamed in misery before going to the freezer and grabbing a gallon size tub of chocolate ice cream and a bottle of chocolate syrup out of the fridge. She began shoveling down the ice cream and squirting chocolate syrup in her mouth and growing fatter and fatter as the images began to fade out. Just before it faded out the Uchiha symbol finally exploded as she busted out of the shirt.

"I am surprised at your view of marriage brother." Sasuke said with a smirk and a shudder after the images were over. "After reading the medical journal of _notes_ you gave Hinata I would have thought you were more the… _romantic_ type."

Completely impervious to what his brother's razzing, Itachi calmly took a bite of his cereal and refused to respond to him.

Seeing his brother was just going to ignore him, Sasuke stopped teasing him for a moment.

"You really like her don't you?"

"Yes."

"I took care of Naruto for you last night," Sasuke told him impassively before taking a sip of his coffee.

Itachi raised his eyebrows slightly and turned to him. "How?"

Shrugging his shoulders, "I told Hinata the truth about him," Sasuke told him blandly.

"What about him?" Itachi asked him in a dangerously quiet voice.

_Oh shit_.

"Just that he has been stringing her along for weeks trying to get her to break up with him,"he told him in a carefully bored voice.

Sasuke felt a spike of killer intent fill the room before his brother dissipated.

Sasuke smirked as he looked at the space his brother used to occupy and went back to eating his breakfast.

"Sasuke, what did you do to set your brother off?" Mikoto accused him irritably as she came running into the room.

"Tch, nothing," he told her with a remote look on his face.

Mikoto breathed out in frustration. "You and your brother ought to know by now that look doesn't work with me, now spill it…what is going on?"

Sasuke told her everything and watched as she flung a kunai knife across the room when he was done.

He decided he had better warn the Dobe not to come over for awhile.

oooOOOooo

Late in the morning Naruto stepped up to his front porch stiffly. It wasn't even afternoon yet and he had already had a hell of a bad morning. First he went to practice and Sakura punched him because Sasuke wasn't there yet and she had wanted to talk to him. So, instead she decided to beat up him as a way to pass the time until Sasuke came to practice.

When she was done, Sasuke's older brother came out of nowhere and slammed him up against a wall and finished what Sakura had already started and told him to consider himself "officially broken up with Hinata."

Naruto looked confused after Itachi left thinking who gave him the right to tell him he couldn't see Hinata anymore. When he looked over toward Sakura, she just shook her head and looked at him like he was the biggest idiot on the planet.

"You're such an idiot sometimes Naruto, it scares me."

[End scene from earlier in the morning.]

When Naruto made it to his door he shook his head seeing that his day had just gotten even worse. Stabbed to the door with a kunai knife there was a note that read.

"Naruto-bastard, you suck!"

After pulling out the kunai and opening the note he read it.

_You have treated my sister like crap for the last time; you had better come to the Hyuuga clan today and apologize to her, so she can break up with you in person or else. _

_Hinata cannot visit you today because she is sick._

_P.S. Don't forget, you suck._

_Hyuuga Hanabi_

Naruto scratched his head oblivious as to why everyone was getting mad at him today. He didn't do anything wrong to Hinata, except for pretending to be her…_boyfriend_. _Shit! _He thought as he realized she must have figured out what he had been doing the past few weeks. His shoulders drooped as he went inside to get cleaned up to go see her.

Later in the afternoon, Hinata straggled weakly out of the bathroom after throwing up again and saw Naruto was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her eyes immediately narrowed and flew to Hanabi, who was sitting in a chair next to the bed with an innocent looking grin on her face.

Hinata closed her eyes and wished her sister would have at least let her keep some of her dignity. She knew she looked as horrible as she felt and Naruto must have heard her throwing up.

"Hanabi, can you please give us a moment alone."

Hanabi shot Naruto a look of pure venom that warned him he had better apologize to her sister before she left.

Naruto stood up and reached behind him and scratched his head because he didn't know what to say to her.

"Naruto? Why didn't you just tell me the truth?" Hinata asked him softly. She had been angry before, but now that he was in front of her she knew in his own way Naruto had actually been trying to be nice to her.

He sighed, "you have always been so nice to me…I guess, I didn't want to hurt you," he admitted to her and looked up at her with big blue eyes. "I really am sorry, Hinata."

Hinata searched his eyes and began to realize they didn't make her all mushy inside anymore.

_When did I stop liking Naruto that way?_ She asked herself beginning to feel happier than she had in a long time.

"It's okay Naruto, I forgive you," she told him gently and realized she meant it. Deep down there was still some anger at him for humiliating her and stringing her along, but she wasn't the type to hold grudges, so she decided to forgive him.

"That's good, because I don't want you to beat up on me too today," he told her trying to lighten up the mood.

Hinata looked at him closely and saw he was looking pretty rough and had a large black eye and a bruise on his chin.

"Who has been beating up on you Naruto?" She asked him curiously.

"Well first it was Sakura and then Sasuke's bro…I mean I was training," he finished off lamely, because Itachi warned him not to tell her what he did.

Hinata looked at him in shock. _Itachi did that for me!_

Her face began to grow warm, as another wave of nausea began to assault her. She began to blush in embarrassment.

"Naruto, I need you to leave now. I am very sick," she told him politely before covering her mouth with her hand and running into the bathroom and throwing up again.

"Okay Hinata, I hope we can still be friends," Naruto called after her before he left her room.

Hanabi came into her sister's bedroom after eavesdropping on their conversation with a huge smile on her face.

_OMK! Uchiha Itachi likes Hinata! _

She grinned when she realized he was the author of the journal and she hoped they would get married so she could beg him to train her. She was still puzzled about the whole house decorating thing but the thought of her sister dating The Uchiha Itachi was beyond awesome.

Unable to handle being in the sickroom with her sister any longer, she ran out to the training ground and began working on her chakra control.

After Hinata came out of the bathroom she was glad she was alone. She didn't have the energy to deal with anyone right now. She looked over and saw some medicine on her desk and she took a few pills and drank some soda water and went back to bed. The last thought she had before she fell asleep made a small smile form on her lips.

_Ah Itachi, you are so nice to me..._

Later in the evening Hinata woke up when she felt a gentle touch on her forehead. It reminded her of the way her mother used to touch her so she knew it definitely wasn't Hanabi doing it.

"Mother?" She asked feeling a little delusional and out of it.

"No dear," Mikoto told her softly. "But you are welcome to call me that if you would like to."

At her words, Hinata began to cry and Mikoto pulled her into her arms.

"I know dear, you have had a tough time lately," she said soothingly.

_But I promise you, things are going to get a lot better for you very soon._ Mikoto told her silently.

"I'm so confused Mikoto," Hinata told her as she tried to hold back the tears.

"Call me mother, Hinata. I like that name better from you," she reminded her with a gentle smile as she smoothed her hair.

"Um okay, mother," Hinata choked out softly with tears streaming down her face now. She didn't think her real mother would mind her calling that, because she had been really close friends with Mikoto before she died.

"So what are you confused about?" Mikoto asked her patiently.

Hinata looked at her shyly, not used to sharing her feelings with anyone. She didn't know where to begin.

"Is it because of Naruto?" Mikoto thought she should probably start there.

"Yes, partially…It's just I had liked him for so long, that, when I finally thought I had him I began to realize I didn't like him much as a boyfriend, I liked him only as a friend," she told her feeling a little confused and guilty at the same time.

Mikoto laughed gently. "I know, dating is pretty complicated, isn't it?"

Hinata nodded emphatically. "I had all these plans to marry Naruto and help him become Hokage and somehow…they all just fell apart," she said as she stared off in the distance. "I tried to make it all work out but he and I just didn't fit together…"

"When you do fall in love with the right person, Hinata," she told her wisely with a soft smile. "You won't have to work at it or force it to happen, somehow it just works out all by itself."

_Well that and also with a little help from me, of course_. Mikoto thought with a grin.

Hinata yawned.

"Go back to sleep dear, I will be here for a while still and watch over you."

Leaning over her, she told Hinata with a grin. "Oh I almost forgot... I have a message for you from someone over at my house."

"Itachi?" Hinata asked with a wistful note in her voice.

"Yes dear," Mikoto told her with a full grin now. "He told me to remind you when you are feeling better to read the medical notes he gave you…what does he mean by that Hinata?"

Eyes fully closed and almost asleep, Hinata answered her slowly in a sleepy voice. "They are notes from…when he took a medical course for ANBU…he is letting me borrow them…"

Mikoto almost crowed with choked laughter at the lie her son had told Hinata. She knew her son never needed to write down notes—ever. Insanely curious to read what he wrote in the notebook, she looked around the room and spotted it lying on a chair on the other side of the room.

Checking on Hinata before she picked it up she saw she was already asleep. Turning on a desk lamp, she began reading the journal and found the level of instruction in it (as expected) was brilliant. When she was still active as a ninja she had learned some basic medical jutsu but this went well beyond that. Somehow he had made it very easy to understand.

She just knew her son would make a damn good instructor if the Hokage would ever pull him off ANBU duty. But knew it would never happen, he was just too valuable and his skills too exceptional for him to be anywhere else.

She read through it and laughed to herself a little at how badly the diagrams were drawn. She looked at them closer and was puzzled, because she knew for a fact he was excellent at drawing because of his Sharingan.

Her jaw dropped when she saw the letters hidden in the diagrams. Barely containing her excitement she went through each one and hugged the notebook to her chest after she figured it out. Looking over at Hinata who was snoring slightly in her sleep, Mikoto smiled.

_I hope you figure out what he wrote you my dear, because when you learn all of it, you are going to very, very happy._

Mikoto's eyes shifted to the shelves behind Hinata's bed and a horrified laugh escaped her as she looked at the hundreds of stuffed toy kittens lined up on it. She could just see the look on her insanely neat and orderly son's face when Hinata tried to bring all of those stuffed animals into his bedroom.

She made a mental note to make sure she was there to help her move in after they were married. Along with a high speed camera and Sasuke with his Sharingan activated…._Oh and_ _I bet Shisui would also get a kick out of it too_… Mikoto thought with a huge grin on her face.

_It was going to be so… priceless._

"Psst, Mikoto." Hanabi whispered to her through a crack in the door and motioned for her to follow her.

Following her to the conservatory, Mikoto wrapped her arms around her and gave her a big hug.

"Thanks for letting me know about your sister, dearest. She looks like she is getting a little better," she told her with a smile. "It seems to be a 24-48 hour kind of bug, little Naoki is already getting better."

"That's good," Hanabi said in a relieved voice. She looked up at Mikoto with sad eyes.

"I overheard father tell Hinata she is not allowed to visit your clan compound anymore. She is allowed to talk to you and your family at social events and around town, but that is all." Hanabi told her bitterly with a small elegant snort. "He wants her to keep up appearances that our clans get along, what a hypocritical bastard."

"Oh Hanabi dear, you are pretty young to be so cynical." Mikoto said shaking her head sadly. "But, I agree with you though, your father is definitely a bastard."

"I am going to have to work on this," Mikoto told her, sort of thinking out loud. "I just wish I knew what started the feud to begin with, Fugaku still won't tell me and I have tried everything (and I mean _everything_) to get him talk, but he has refused to tell me for years."

"I think I know why they are fighting," Hanabi told her with a sigh. "It is the dumbest possible reason imaginable, well, see for yourself…" she told her as she pointed to a bunch of plaques on the wall.

Mikoto felt rage course through her as she saw for the last ten years in a row, Hyuuga Hiashi had won The Best Lawn of the Year from the Konoha's Men's Association and Lawn Club.

Her rage continued to escalate as she thought of how her husband and Hiashi had been the best of friends up until about ten years ago (Mikoto mentally calculated) before they somehow all of a sudden became bitter enemies.

Her rage turned to outrage when she considered how her idiot husband was actually going to alienate their eldest son and risk his future happiness all because of a stupid award from his even stupider club.

Mikoto finally became livid. "I am going to kill him," she told Hanabi with a dangerous glow in eyes. "Then I am going to torch his lawn."

"Excellent idea, Mikoto." Hanabi complimented her in her oddly adult sounding voice. "I think I will do a little yard work myself."

_**Author's Note**_: Because so many of you wonderful, lovely etc. people decided to take the time and tell me what you liked about the story (or didn't like that is fine too). I finished the next chapter quickly and decided to post it a little early. I also have a large chunk of the next one done too. Anyway, I will post it…if (like last time) I get enough response from you…Please forgive me if there are a lot of errors, it is very late. (Sorry)

**NOTE: 2/21/10-Because of the tremendous response to this chapter, I will be posting Ch. 7 tomorrow (Monday). Thank you all so much!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 7~**

* * *

_****I dedicate this chapter to all of you who took the time to leave me such wonderful and often hilarious feedback on the previous chapter. You guys are so Awesome!**_

Sasuke's eyebrows lifted at his mother's request. "You want me to do what?"

Mikoto took a small sip of her tea before she calmly looked at her son.

"Yes dear, you heard me right. I want you to go out there and torch your father's lawn," she told him with a hint of steel in her voice.

Sasuke's lips twitched as he remembered how satisfying it felt the last time he and Itachi accidently scorched most of it during a fight.

"Okay, I'll do it," he replied unenthusiastically.

Mikoto beamed at her youngest son. "Excellent," she told him as she patted him on the back.

As they walked out to the yard she looked over at her flowers and rose garden and frowned slightly. She sure hoped he would be able to burn the lawn without damaging her precious roses and flowers.

Turning to her son she pointed to the area close to the house. "Do you think you could burn it without destroying my flowers and roses?" She asked him with a worried expression on her face. "I have a competition I want to enter them into next month."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and just knew she was going to make this difficult for him.

"I will try not to destroy them, mother," he snapped at her and raised his eyebrow in irritation. "Anything else?"

Mikoto looked a little sheepish as she pointed to a cute hand painted bird house she had on a large pole near the edge of the lawn.

Sasuke glared at her before he strode over to the bird house and ripped the pole out of the ground and shoved it into the ground near her garden.

"Oh thank you, son," Mikoto beamed at him happily. "I like that location so much better."

Sasuke stood there and waited impatiently with folded arms.

"Alright, burn away," Mikoto told him airily as she moved behind him out of his way.

Sasuke began performing the hand signs for the Phoenix Flower jutsu (rat-tiger-dog-ox-rabbit…) just before he got to tiger; his father came out running wildly into the yard.

Behind him his mother swore out loud. "Ugh, damn it!"

"Sasuke, what in the hell do you think you are doing?" Fugaku roared at him as he stood in the middle of the lawn with his arms folded tightly against his chest.

"Sasuke, just do it," Mikoto demanded imperiously as she pointed firmly out towards the lawn. "Don't worry about him—he'll move out of the way eventually."

Sasuke stood there and looked from one parent to the other with wariness and disgust before he sighed and walked away. There was no way he was going to get in the middle of one of their fights.

"Tch, you'll have to find another way, mother, I am done," he told her impassively as he looked over his shoulder at her.

Mikoto's lips grew tight at her son's betrayal of her. Looking at her husband's smug look a dangerous spark lit up her eyes.

"Fine, I will do it myself then," she snapped as she moved on to her back-up plan and pulled out a couple of shuriken, rigged with multiple paper bombs attached to them.

After lighting them, she launched them on separate sides of the yard. Just before she shielded her eyes, she watched with a satisfied smile as her husband dove to the ground and covered his head.

A few seconds later she unshielded her eyes when she didn't hear an explosion. Looking around her she saw they had been doused with water.

"Itachi?" She cried out and her lips tightened as she guessed who was responsible for putting them out. He was the only person in their clan who was both a fire and a water element user.

"The two of you are acting foolishly," her eldest chided without emotion.

Fugaku stood up with a smirk on his face as he glared smugly at his wife.

"Thank you, son," he said as he smiled and nodded benevolently towards Itachi.

"At least one of my sons shows the proper respect for his father," Fugaku said as he directed an acusatory glare at Sasuke for attempting to burn down his lawn.

"Whatever," Sasuke said with disgust as he went to stand over by his brother.

"You leave Sasuke out of this, Fugaku, I asked him to do it," Mikoto sputtered indignantly as she walked over to him.

"Why would you do that?" He asked her as he looked at her with confused outrage on his face.

At her husband's denseness, Mikoto's fists balled up at her sides as she simmered with barely restrained resentment and anger.

"Because I am sick of it!" She hissed at him. "You and your damn lawn!" She screamed and poked him in the chest. "And your little feud with Hyuuga Hiashi needs to stop, before it destroys our family."

"Oh no Mikoto, that bastard started it and I am going to finish it," he fired back with a mulish look on his face.

"What did he do to you dear?" His wife mocked acidly. "Beat you in your little lawn competition?"

Fugaku looked away with a slightly guilty expression as his wife's accusation struck a little too close to the truth. His mouth became taut as he glared back at her.

"Hyuuga Hiashi is an arrogant asshole and I want nothing to do with him or his family," he told her harshly before he turned toward his eldest son with a hard look that made his feelings abundantly clear on the subject.

Mikoto's heart sunk painfully in her chest as she watched as Itachi gave Fugaku almost a pitying look before his face became like stone and he turned and began to walk away.

Sasuke rolled his eyes with derision as he looked at his father and left to follow his brother.

"What is the name of the guy who built your house, Itachi?" Sasuke asked him blandly when he came up beside him.

"See what you did?" Mikoto accused him miserably as she pointed toward her boys. "You made both of them leave home; I hope you are happy now!"

"Back off, Mikoto," Fugaku warned her in a low and angry voice.

"Or what?" She challenged as she got into his face.

Fugaku gave her a hard stare before he angrily walked over and spewed out fire all over her garden, burning it to ashes. Then he strode away angrily to go work in his garage.

Mikoto stood still and her eyes began to narrow menacingly as she looked over what was left of her charred and smoking rose bushes and flowers. Angry tears formed behind her eyes when she saw her adorable little bird house some of the children in the clan made for her was still on fire.

Sasuke and Itachi turned and looked at each other with identical looks when they heard their mother's cry of outrage. They both knew their father was in deep, deep shit.

oooOOOooo

"Lady Uchiha, what a nice surprise," Shizune said with a fake smile and looked at her warily as she opened the door only a few inches.

"Hello Shizune, is the Hokage around? I need to speak to her." Mikoto asked pleasantly.

A feeling of unease passed over Shizune, as she knew nothing good ever came of it when these two women got together.

"One moment, I will see if she is available," she said with tight lips as she went to close the door on her.

"Shizune, who is it?" Tsunade barked from behind her desk.

"Lady Uchiha," her assistant replied glumly.

"Mikoto!" The Hokage yelled out happily. "Get in here."

Lady Tsunade got up from behind her desk and ran over and hugged her friend when she came through the door.

"Tsunade, how are you, dear?" Mikoto said as hugged her friend back.

"Oh, I'm fine, busy as ever. You know how it is, it never ends," Tsunade said as she pointed to the stack of papers on her desk before going back to her seat.

Too emotionally drained to exchange pleasantries, Mikoto sat down wearily on the chair next to her desk.

Tsunade watched her friend with a frown. "What can I do for you Mikoto?"

She released a ragged sigh, before she looked over at her friend with a determined spark in her eyes.

"I need to hire some of your ninjas."

A slow smirk lit the Hokage's face as she knew instinctively there was a seriously juicy story behind this request. She leaned forward eagerly.

"I'll let you…only if you promise to tell me everything, Mikoto," she told her dryly with a knowing grin. "And I mean…everything."

Mikoto raised her eyes toward the ceiling and her shoulders began to shake as frustrated mirth poured out of her.

"Oh Tsunade," she groaned. "You are not going to believe some of the stuff going on around my house. My husband has me so angry I am about ready to kill him."

The Hokage looked over at the huge stack of papers on her desk and realized this was her chance to break away for a few hours. She turned toward her friend with an almost conspiratorial grin on her face.

"Come on Mikoto, let's go out and we can discuss this over lunch."

Mikoto almost rolled her eyes at Tsunade's obvious plea for help and went along with her.

"Wonderful idea, Tsunade, I am starving," Mikoto said as they both began to stand up and walk towards the door.

Behind them Shizune cleared her throat and pointed to the large stack of papers sitting on her desk.

"Lady Tsunade, you promised me you would take care of this today…" her assistant reminded her somewhat cautiously.

"Oh, Shizune," the Hokage snapped. "I will attend to it after Mikoto and I are done with our business."

_Business, yeah right_, Shizune thought sarcastically. The last time the Hokage had business with Lady Uchiha, ANBU needed to carry her home in wee hours of the morning.

Sitting down wearily in the Hokage's vacant chair Shizune eyed the huge stack of papers with disgust, knowing she would end up taking care of at least half of it and save the super important papers for her boss to take care of later.

Reaching under the desk she pushed a button and within a few minutes an ANBU member appeared before her.

"I need to issue a code red," Shizune told him with a long suffering sigh, she looked over at the agent.

"The Hokage just left the building with Lady U and I need you to assign a team later in the evening to hunt them down and neutralize any damage they cause around town and make sure the Hokage gets home safely."

"Hai," the ANBU member said as he reluctantly followed orders. Blanching slightly under his mask he remembered the last time the Hokage got together with Lady U, it wasn't pretty. He disappeared and went back to headquarters to form a team to watch over her.

oooOOOooo

Several hours later, with dozens of shopping bags around them, an inebriated Hokage slammed her hand on the table and almost broke it as she struggled to catch her breath.

"You mean…" Tsunade choked out as surprised laughter burst out of her. "Their feud has been over…their lawns."

Shaking her head because of the sheer ridiculousness of it all, Mikoto nodded. "Yes, damn it," she told her with a slightly tipsy giggle. "Isn't it just the stupidest thing you ever heard?"

An unholy light entered the Hokage's eyes as she looked over at her friend.

Leaning forward her eyes glowed with mischief.

"Mikoto, let's go back to the office," she told her with a snort of laughter. "I have just the team for you."

At the look in the Hokage's eyes, Mikoto bust out laughing. "Oh god Tsunade, I can't wait to see what you have planned," she said excitedly as she began to pick up her shopping bags.

"Leave them," the Hokage told her as she pointed with a smirk towards the ANBU members in the corner of the bar. Pointing to the bags, she signaled for them to come over and carry them.

"It will give you something to do," she ordered dryly as she knew Shizune had ordered them to follow her.

On the way back to the office, Mikoto thought of something. "Do you think you could find something to keep Fugaku busy with tonight?"

Tsunade giggled. "I've already sent someone over to your house."

"Oh good. I hope he will be gone all night." Mikoto said with a slightly inebriated and vengeful look in her eyes.

Tsunade swayed slightly and she grabbed her friend's shoulder for support.

"Oh don't worry, I found something that will keep him busy all night."

oooOOOooo

The afternoon sun was pouring in through her bedroom window when Hinata woke up feeling much better. Tired of lying around she decided to take a shower and get dressed. After she was done with that she took her medicine and picked up the Itachi's journal from the desk it was on and went out of her room to see if she would be able to eat something.

Upon entering the kitchen, she saw Hanabi in there munching on an apple. Seeing her sister was walking around, Hanabi's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What are you doing out of bed?" She asked with a worried frown.

Hinata smiled and felt touched by her sister's concern for her.

"I am doing much better and my fever is gone…I was hoping to try to eat something."

"Take a seat," Hanabi ordered her as she came over and touched her forehead and saw her temp was normal. "I had the cooks make some plain rice and broth this morning; I will heat it up for you."

Hinata watched in shock as her self-absorbed little sister waited on her. It was the first time ever in their relationship. Ever since Hanabi had been born Hinata had almost been like more of a mother to her than a sister.

She felt herself tearing up as she watched Hanabi work in the kitchen. Smiling to herself, she realized she never knew her sister even knew how to cook anything.

Hanabi turned around and looked at her sister when she felt her eyes on her.

"What?" She asked at her sister's look of surprise. "Hmpf, I know how to cook a little, Hinata," Hanabi said with a defensive looking grin as she turned back around and began stirring the broth.

Hinata began to laugh softly. "I am just surprised that's all, I have never seen you in here before."

Seeing her sister didn't like her teasing her, Hinata picked up Itachi's journal and began skimming through it. She quickly became engrossed in it and forgot her sister was even in the room with her.

"The information in that journal is golden," Hanabi told her with a sly grin as she set the broth and rice down in front of her sister.

"Who wrote it?" She asked her with an impish smile, deciding to play dumb. Hanabi watched as a light blush crept up her sisters cheeks.

"Uchiha Itachi," Hinata replied with a small smile and kept her eyes on the journal.

"Are you serious Hinata? I mean, the guy is a total genius," Hanabi said a little incredulously. "And he is helping you?"

Hinata blushed slightly as she nodded. "Yes, we have become…friends, I think."

"Friends?" Hanabi blurted out with an indelicate snort. "Forget that, I think you should try to date him."

Hinata choked on her broth and Hanabi smirking in delight, pounded her on the back.

"Date him?" Hinata sputtered out. "What would someone like him, want with me Hanabi?" She said a little sadly as she shook her head in denial.

Hanabi looked at her elder and more beautiful sister and felt herself becoming even more angry at their father. Hinata's lack of belief and confidence in herself could be laid squarely on his shoulders for constantly belittling her and telling her she was useless. He was an arrogant, self-centered bastard who only cared about himself and the Hyuuga name. And it was about time Hinata learned that.

She put her hand under her chin and made her sister look at her.

"Hinata, don't listen to what father tells you about yourself. You are beautiful and kind and a damn good kunoichi… Neji and I stopped listening to him years ago; I think you need to do the same."

At her words and the truth in them Hinata started crying. "But Hanabi, he is our father…"

Hanabi cut her off by covering her mouth gently. "Yes he is, but he doesn't care about any of us… and I don't want you to ruin your life trying to please him any longer," she told her firmly with a hard light in her eyes.

Hinata took a ragged breath as she absorbed the truth of her sister's words and wiped the tears away from her eyes. Looking sadly over at her much younger and much tougher sister she said.

"Hanabi, you are, um…very cynical for your age."

"I know Sis," Hanabi responded with a bitter laugh thinking she had been hearing that a lot lately. "You can thank our father for that; he is the one who made me this way."

Hinata hated hearing her sister sound so angry, she immediately stood up and hugged her tightly. "I will try to stand up to him, Hanabi…arigato."

_Don't worry Hinata…I am going to help you_. Hanabi thought as she held on to the only person who ever really gave a damn about her.

As Hinata released her, Hanabi remembered something her and Mikoto talked about last night.

"Hinata, you don't have to worry about the Valentine's Day party, Neji and I will take care of everything."

Hinata frowned and looked at her hesitantly. "Are you sure? It is a lot of work…and you know I don't mind helping."

Hanabi waived her off nonchalantly

"Nope, we have everything under control. We talked about it and decided it was time we started pulling our weight around here," Hanabi said laying it on very thick. "And stop making you do all of the work for these types of events."

Hinata stared at her sister with raised eyebrows, beginning to get suspicious at her complete turnabout in behavior. Last year, she couldn't get her and Neji to help her at all and now they wanted to take care of the whole thing?

Something clearly was going on.

"Hanabi," Hinata said slowly as she looked at her little sister with a penetrating glance. "What are you up to?"

Hanabi blushed slightly and looked back at her with innocent eyes. "Nothing Sis," she replied blandly. "I just want to learn how to do it on my own …that's all."

Hinata stared at her a moment longer, still not convinced her sister was being honest with her. But she knew her sister was like a force of nature when it came to getting her way, if Hanabi wanted to take care of the party on her own, then she wouldn't be able to stop her.

"All right then, if you need help… just let me know." Hinata offered as she picked up her journal and began walking out of the room.

"I know, I know…Neji and I will find you if we need help, I promise," she told her with a smirk behind her back.

"Make sure you read the whole journal, I think you will find it very informative," Hanabi called to her as she walked down the hallway.

"Okay Hanabi, I will go do that now," Hinata replied agreeably with a frown, still thinking that her sister was acting sort of strange.

When she got back to her room she propped up a couple pillows and settled herself in for some serious reading.

A few hours of reading the journal she began to feel like she was falling in love, well maybe not with him, but definitely with his brain. Hinata was awestruck, because in her whole life she felt she had never had anyone be able to explain something to her as clearly as the information in the journal was doing. In some strange way it was almost as if he understood her.

The ghost of a smile crossed her face at his thoughtfulness for lending it to her, as she set the journal down and began reading her textbook from the medical training class.

After reading it for a while a slight frown marred her forehead as she noticed something about a paragraph from her book; she could have sworn she read something similar in the journal. But it was written slightly different.

She picked up the journal again and found the paragraph with the information she was looking for and she read it again and noticed a slight anomaly as she compared it to the textbook. The paragraph from the journal had one misspelled word, the fourth letter over seemed out of place. It caught her eye because, out of the whole thing she couldn't find any more errors in it from spelling to punctuation the whole thing was perfect accept for this one letter.

It almost seemed to her he had done it on purpose.

Smiling to herself at her foolish thoughts, she decided to read the paragraph again using the decoding book she had picked up at the library. After finding the decoding key she started with the misspelled letter and after changing every fourth letter of the paragraph to the ones in the key she read out what she wrote.

WILL YOU… Hinata's throat began to get dry and her heart began to race at the next words… GO OUT WITH ME.

Dumbfounded, she stared at the letters in disbelief and went over the paragraph again with the key and came to the same coded message.

She stared at the words and didn't know what to do or think. If she asked him about it and was wrong, he might think she was one of his deluded fan-girls.

But the question itself boggled her mind the most. Uchiha Itachi wanted to go out with her? It seemed so sudden to her, she had just wrapped her mind around the concept of being friends with him and now this, it was just too much.

Hinata sat up in a daze and felt like the information was a total shock to her system. After her last unfortunate foray into dating, the thought of going out with Itachi was frightening, because unlike Naruto, she knew instinctively it would be so easy for her to fall in love with him.

Feeling restless and reluctantly happy, Hinata drifted off to sleep…

Several hours later her eyes widened in instant alarm from a dead sleep as she felt the draft of cold air across her face. Looking over toward the source of the cold air a frightened gasp tore from her lips.

Her window was wide open and someone was standing in her room.

Jumping to her feet, she immediately formed herself into a jyuuken stance and immediately regretted it as a wave of dizziness assailed her. Swaying slightly, she soon found herself being sheltered protectively by two very strong arms.

"Easy Hinata, it's me." Itachi told her as he calmly led her back to her bed.

"I-Itachi," she whispered out and her heart began to race in shock that he was here in her bedroom (_oh my Kami!_) in the middle of the night. In a daze she sat down next to him on the edge of her bed.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down.

"Um, Itachi, why did you come here?" She asked him as her hands gripped the edge of the bed nervously.

"My mother told me you were sick," he replied with cool politeness as if he was talking to her on the street in broad daylight.

Hinata felt herself relax a bit at his polite tone and felt brave enough to glance over at him.

"Um, I am feeling better. I am planning on going to my medical training class in the morning," she told him shyly.

"That's good," he told her as he reached beside him and handed her clothes to her. "I had them washed for you."

Hinata's face grew warm and was grateful for the darkened room as she saw her pink bra lying on top of her purple top.

"Uh…Thank you," she choked out as her hands darted out and took them from him and put them on the other side of her.

Beginning to feel acutely uncomfortable around him again, she stared at the floor and waited for him to say something to her. After a few moments of silence, she looked over at him and saw he was staring at her stuffed kitty collection with a barely concealed look of revulsion on his face.

A giggle escaped her as she thought of his obsession with tidiness and order. Her room, while she had always kept it clean and fairly neat, was not even close to the insane level of cleanliness he kept his.

"I…ah…like cats," she told him unnecessarily with a small smile directed at him.

"Yes, I can see that," he replied blandly and his dark eyes locked onto hers.

"Did you finish reading the journal yet?" He asked her with a carefully neutral voice while his eyes had a slight intensity about them as they searched hers.

Blood rushed through her veins and Hinata looked away from him, knowing the moment of truth had arrived for her. She knew she could play dumb right now and pretend she never saw the coded message or she could…be honest with him.

"Yes, I read it," she answered him and her voice was slightly hoarse as she swallowed the huge lump in her throat and looked down at her hands. Doubts began to assail her once more, as she wondered what he could possibly want with her.

Itachi turned toward her and waited patiently for her to look at him.

Sighing and hoping she wasn't wrong about what she decoded, she finally turned and bravely lifted her eyes toward his.

"And what did you see in there?" He pressed her quietly as his eyes continued to stare into hers.

Blushing slightly Hinata turned away from him, and crossed her fingers behind her back.

"You um, asked me a question?"

The corners of Itachi's mouth turned up slightly.

"Well, what is your answer?" He whispered as he leaned closer to her.

Hinata's pulse began to speed up when she saw how near he was to her. She realized he went to a lot of trouble to write out that code and the journal for her, even if he did lie to her when he gave them to her. Warmth began to course through her at the thought that he did all that… just to ask her out on a date.

"Yes," replied with a soft smile. "I will go out with you."

At her words, Hinata watched as a light entered his eyes before he covered it up.

"I will meet you tomorrow at noon at the same place we had lunch before," Itachi told her as he got up to leave.

As he walked toward the window, Hinata just had to ask him something before she lost her nerve.

"Itachi?"

He turned and looked at her.

"How did you know I would be able to find your question in your notes?" She asked him a little breathlessly.

His eyes lingered slowly over her face for a moment before he answered her with an almost intense expression on his face.

"I saw you checking out a couple books on decoding information over the last few of months at the library," he admitted to her unemotionally.

As he spoke to her, Hinata's face grew warm and her body began to melt towards him as she realized he noticed her months ago. She wondered why he didn't talk to her sooner.

_Ah Itachi_, she sighed as she watched him leave through the window. It felt so wonderful to have someone notice her after Naruto's neglectful treatment of her.

As Itachi left her room, he thought of when he first spotted her in the Library a few months ago. He had gotten in the habit of going there a few nights a week when he wasn't on duty to read and enjoy the peace and quiet.

One night, he looked up from the book he was reading and happened to see her come in. He recognized her of course and quickly went back to his book, but later when she was standing near the corner he was in, something about her caught his eye and made him take a second look.

She was standing under a light looking at some books on a shelf with her face clearly visible to him. He stared at her delicately molded face with smooth milky skin and lovely mouth and recognized hers was a subtle beauty, easily overlooked at first glance. Watching as she smiled at something she read in the book, he saw that hers was the type that was lit from within.

Over time the next few months he found himself watching for her to come in and when she did, his eyes were always drawn toward her until finally about a week ago he decided to go speak to her…a rare but small smile began to form on his face.

As Itachi walked across the lawn he realized he had left her in her room rather abruptly because he began to get these sharp pains in his stomach and was beginning to feel nauseous. Suddenly he bent over and threw up all over the lawn around him.

After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he mentally cursed his idiot cousin for causing both him and Hinata to get the stomach flu. Looking over across the yard he was surprised when he saw people doing yard work. He shook his head in disgust when he guessed his father wasn't the only one who was obsessed with his lawn.

Beginning to sweat and feel even more rotten, Itachi quickly dissipated before he was caught within their clan walls. He wasn't in the mood to start a war.

Activating her Byakugan, Hanabi saw Itachi on the property with a huge grin on her face. It pleased her to see he wasn't wasting any time going after her sister. She also had to laugh when she saw him vomit on her father's lawn, thinking it was very appropriate for him to leave her asshole father a little gift.

Turning to the people around her, she gave them their orders.

"Alright everyone," she said firmly, directing their attention toward her. "It is extremely important we do this as quietly as possible. I drew a picture of the pattern you are to follow for the center. The rest of you make sure you spread it as evenly as possible."

Watching the volunteers from the branch family members, a wide grin begin to grow as she thought how her father was going to be so pissed when he saw his lawn in the morning. She couldn't wait; this little gift to him was long overdue.

_**Author's Note:**_ Sorry this update took longer than I promised. I was so touched and overwhelmed by all of the comments you all left me for the last chapter. Thank you so much! Itahina time coming up in the next chapter along with Fugaku's and Hiashi's reactions. I will update again in a few days.

Update: 3/22/13


	8. Chapter 8

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 8~**

**_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys are freaking hilarious and just plain wonderful!!!!!! Warning: This chapter contains crack, I went out of my mind a bit, you have been warned lol._**

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****Hyuuga POV****

Hyuuga Hiashi awoke in the morning like he always did and walked to the window of his upper story bedroom and surveyed his kingdom. It was his way of reminding himself that he was no ordinary man, he was the lord and master of all that was in front and behind him.

Lifting his eyes to the sky, he saw it was going to be another excellent day. Just when he had begun mentally planning his day he allowed his eyes to drift lower and savor his lone perfectly manicured triumph over his rival when his head did a double take so fast it nearly snapped his neck.

His perfect rectangular lawn was turning brown. In the center a very large and perfect circle had been left untouched and the dark green of the grass was in stark contrast to the rapidly dying outer edges.

In the epi-center was a long arm and a fist with the middle finger sticking out angrily mocking him to his face. The message was blunt and crude, but immensely clear.

His eyes narrowed as his eyes surveyed the signs of rebellion in his kingdom and his lips turned up as he thought to himself.

_It was about time_.

As he walked downstairs and out of the house his eyes glittered at the prospect of being finally being challenged by one of his offspring. And then he would crush the usurper in defeat as was his duty and appropriate for him to do so. His father had done it to him and now he must continue the tradition.

It was the Hyuuga way of celebrating their rite of passage.

Hiashi watched as the head gardener came and bowed deferentially before him.

"I followed your directions Hiashi-sama and gave her the information and chemicals you had provided to me if such an event was ever to take place." The branch member told him nervously with his face carefully lowered to the ground.

"Well done, Isamu." Hiashi said with a slight incline of his head. "Now turn on the sprinklers."

As he left, a tiny smile graced Hiashi's proud face knowing his lawn was going to be even better than it was before the rebellion took place.

Hiashi went immediately to his office and asked a branch member to bring Hanabi to him when Hinata appeared in his doorway. Looking up with slightly interested eyes he gestured for her to enter.

"Pardon me, father, for interrupting you." Hinata said respectfully with her head properly lowered. "But, Hanabi didn't do it…" She told him and looked him straight in the eyes. "I-I did."

A slow sarcastic smile crossed his face at the obvious lie his eldest daughter was telling him. Pinning her down with his cold eyes he looked at her with a slight amount of respect at her willingness to take the punishment for her sister.

"So, why did you do it, Hinata?" He asked her in a deceptively calm voice as his hard eyes continued to watch her.

Quaking under his cold stare, Hinata thought about protecting her little sister and strengthened her resolve and looked him in the eye.

"Well,…you are a cruel leader and… do not respect the people beneath you." Hinata told him honestly. "I-I cannot respect such a man as y-you." She stuttered out a little shakily but her voice was filled quiet anger.

Pleased at her show of backbone, he allowed himself to unbend slightly.

"You think I am cruel, do you?" He asked her in a deceptively gentle tone.

Hinata took a nervous breath and kept herself rigid before him.

"Yes father, I do." She told him truthfully as she looked back at him with pain filled eyes. "However, even after all that you have done to me and the clan, a part of me still cares about you…because mother did."

At the mention of his dead wife, Hiashi's icy self controlled shattered.

"Do not mention _her_ to me again." He told her as his icy gaze blasted her and his hands clenched in anger. "Get out of my sight. We will discuss your punishment later."

Hinata stood there too shocked to move. She had never seen him lose his composure like this--ever.

Hiashi pointed to the door and choked out. "Go!"

Tears pouring down her face, Hinata ran out of his office down the hall to her room.

Still in his office, Hiashi took a few deep breaths to regain his composure. He was still furious at how she tried to use his feelings for his dead wife against him and make him feel guilty for the way he ran his clan.

How dare she try something like that and how dare she look exactly like his dead wife. Every time he looked at her, it reminded him of her mother and how she was taken away from him. Being around her was like lancing a raw and open wound; it was torture. He hated to be around his eldest daughter, it just hurt too much.

Ruthlessly pushing down the pain and anger, he made himself calm again. Pressing a button under his desk, he waited for a branch member to attend to him.

"How may I serve you Hiashi-sama?" The branch member asked as he bowed low before him.

"Find Hanabi and bring her to me immediately." Hiashi ordered a little smugly. After that pathetic scene with his mewling eldest daughter, he was looking forward to crushing the spirit of the youngest one. It was time he saw what she was made of.

Hanabi was in her room staring at the ceiling with a satisfied smirk on her face. A giggle escaped her when she thought about yesterday morning when she sent word that she needed volunteers to help her with her little "lawn project." So many branch family members signed up that she had to do a lottery to choose the lucky volunteers who would get to help her give him a black eye by destroying one of his most prized possessions.

To say her father was hated by his clan would be an understatement of almost epic proportions. The branch family members absolutely loathed him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door.

"Enter." Hanabi said coolly.

"Hanabi-sama, your father requests your presence in his office." The branch member told her respectfully when he poked his head through the slightly opened door.

"Tell him I will be with him shortly." Hanabi responded formally.

After the branch member left she took a deep breath and her eyes glowed with excitement.

Her bastard of a father was going down.

"You wanted to see me father?" Hanabi asked as she stood in front of him and gave him a bow that was just shy of being considered insulting.

"Yes daughter, take a seat." He told her calmly as he ignored her slight and gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

After Hanabi sat down across from him, he leaned slightly towards her and looked at her with an almost amused expression.

"I see you have added _lawn-art_ to your growing list of accomplishments." He stated in a dangerously conversational tone.

Her lips quirked at his using the words lawn-art to describe her message to him, "yes father, I have." She told him, her tone matching his.

At her total lack of fear of him, his eyes became hard. "Your gesture was crude and unworthy of a Hyuuga." Her father admonished her with a look of disappointment directed at her.

"However crude it may have been, father," she replied with mock politeness. "I deemed it to be the most appropriate gesture I could find to express my sentiments toward you as a father and the leader of our clan."

A flash of anger passed over his arrogant features as her barb struck home, before he gave her a reluctant admiring bark of laughter for her guts.

"Come with me to the window, Hanabi," Hiashi said smugly as he decided he had put up with her insubordination long enough. "We will enjoy your "art-work" together."

Smiling secretly to herself, Hanabi got up and followed him to the window.

Hiashi looked outside and instead of seeing his yard coming back to life through large amounts of water being sprayed on it; he saw dark brown death staring him in the face. The only part that was green was the circle in the middle and his daughter's art-work in the center was beginning to turn a hideous black that mocked him as it stood in stark contrast to the green.

"What-did-you-do- to-my-lawn?" He bit out slowly through clenched teeth as he turned to look at her.

Reluctantly feeling a slight amount of fear, Hanabi, clamped down on her emotions and fears and looked at him with fake innocence in her eyes.

"I used pure ammonia sulfate, as your master gardener, Isamu, directed." She admitted to him partially.

_Plus a secret ingredient_, she thought with an evil smile to herself.

_**[Flashback to yesterday at Konoha's largest home and garden store]**_

"You would like to buy what, Hyuuga-san?" The middle-aged salesman asked her with a confused look on his face.

"I need to find something that will destroy my lawn." Hanabi repeated again slowly, so the idiot would be able to understand her.

"Don't you mean something that will kill off only the weeds?" He asked her in a slightly condescending way, because of her age. He just knew she had to be mistaken as he had never heard of anyone actually wanting to kill off their grass along with the weeds.

Eyes beginning to flash dangerously and standing up to her full height, Hanabi looked every inch a proud Hyuuga. "Whatever. Find me something that kills off absolutely everything and get me a lot of it."

At her frigid tone of voice and knowing who her father was, the clerk immediately began to grovel a little. "Pardon me, Hyuuga-san, I will go check in the back to see if we have anything that meets your ah, unique requirements."

Standing there in a huff, as the idiot salesman went to go check on her order; Hanabi looked around and waited impatiently for him to come back.

"I think I might have a solution to your problem," a lazy voice drawled behind her. Turning around she saw Nara Shikamaru standing there looking at paint brushes.

"Hello Nara-san." Hanabi said politely, her eyes looked at him with a great deal of interest as she was curious as to what kind of solution he had for her.

"So, you need something that kills off everything,… including the lawn?" He asked her in a bored voice as he stared off in the distance and looked like he was thinking.

"Yes," she told him with a slightly mischievous grin. "I need it for a little… um, lawn project I am doing."

"I can only think of one thing that is corrosive as death and that is…"

"What?... Nara beer." Choji said jokingly as he came up beside him.

"Yeah, Nara beer." Shikamaru told her with a sly and lazy grin.

"Nara beer!" Choji repeated again with raised eyebrows. "Why do you want to give her that toxic shit, it'll kill her?"

"No Choji, I am not giving it to her to drink." He explained patiently to his large-boned friend. "I am giving it to her to destroy her lawn."

"Oh okay," Choji said as he looked over at her with an affirmative chuckle. "It will definitely work for that."

Turning towards his friend, he mused. "Hey Shikamaru, remember last year when we used it to remove the paint from your shed and it ate through all of the paint brushes and even the wood on the shed."

Shikamaru sighed irritably, "Yeah, I remember… and my mother made me rebuild the whole damn thing. It was a major pain in the ass." He complained.

"I can't believe your dad actually drinks that stuff, he must have iron guts or something." Choji told his friend as he shook his head in disbelief.

Hanabi looked over at both of them skeptically as they talked. They had to be messing with her; no alcoholic beverage could possibly do all the things they claimed this one did.

"I don't believe you?" She told them with tight lips.

"Come on, I'll show you." He told her indolently with a bored sigh.

After they reached the Nara clan compound, Shikamaru went inside his house and brought out a couple cans of cold Nara beer. Opening one he handed it to Hanabi who smelled it and thought it smelled nasty but she thought all beer tasted and smelled gross so it didn't seem that unusual to her.

"Pour some on the ground and make sure it doesn't touch your skin or clothes." Shikamaru told her as he and Choji cautiously stepped back away from her.

Still suspicious, Hanabi glanced over at them to make sure they weren't teasing her before she poured some of the amber-liquid on the grass.

After staring at it for a few moments and nothing had happened, her shoulders began to droop when she realized it was all a joke on her.

She was just about ready to blast them, when she looked down and her mouth fell open in awe as it appeared they weren't kidding about the potent toxicity of the beer, it was definitely some highly corrosive shit.

Looking at the ground closely as it turned black, it almost seemed to her the demon brew practically sucked the soul out of the blades of grass and even destroyed the soil with a cold deadliness even her asshole-father would appreciate.

"See, I told you." Choji couldn't resist telling her.

"Okay, I'm sorry; I thought the two of you were teasing me." Hanabi said in a slightly rueful but firm voice.

"I need to caution you about this beer Hyuuga-san." Shikamaru warned her as he pointed around him like a lazy prophet of doom.

"See these black spots on the ground, some of them have been here forever. Once my clan's beer touches the soil it renders the ground beneath it unusable forever."

Beside him, Choji shook his head emphatically with big eyes. "It's true Hyuuga-san, his dad accidentally spilled some of it on our lawn when they came over for a barbecue years ago and that spot is still as black as tar. My dad has tried everything to get grass to grow there but it never works…it is like it has become a… dead zone."

Almost beside herself with happiness at the thought of permanently destroying her father's beloved lawn, Hanabi looked at Shikamaru and practically begged him.

"How much can you give me? I will pay anything for it." She told him a little desperately as she grabbed his arm.

"Naw, you don't have to pay me for it," he replied casually as he pointed towards a shed near him. "We have some concentrated beer in some kegs that keeps eating through the wood. I am sick of messing with them and they are too old to drink. They would be perfect for your job."

"Really." Hanabi said politely as she contained her excitement. "I will need lot of it…"

"Well, you can always dilute it if necessary or even mix it and the result will still be death." He told her with an absolute look on his face. "However for the blackest, most putrid death possible you will have to apply it undiluted and it will be there forever."

Grinning hugely she thanked them and told them she would be sending over some clan members to pick up the kegs. She frowned slightly as she thought of something.

"Does this stuff kill people if it touches them?"

A burst of laughter erupted out of Choji at her question as he thought of Shikamaru's dad, Shikaku and how when he wasn't on duty, he was always drinking it.

"No Hyuuga-san, it only kills plants and the soil, but I would still be careful with it."

Hanabi giggled and was glad the stuff wasn't toxic to people, she didn't want to be responsible for the death of a bunch of her clansmen.

"Thank you so much, both of you." Hanabi said gratefully as she was leaving. "If you want to see what I did with it, come by tomorrow afternoon and I will tell the clan members at the gate to give you access to the compound."

"Oh, we'll be there." Choji told her with a grin as he and Shikamaru shared an amused glance.

**[End Flashback]**

Hiashi looked at his lawn and back to his stubborn daughter with furious eyes.

"What did you put on my lawn, Hanabi?"

His daughter looked mulish as she stared back at him. "You might as well just go ahead and punish me father, because I will never tell you." She told him firmly, because she promised Shikamaru she wouldn't tell anyone about his family's demon brew.

Hiashi's arrogant mouth smiled grimly, "Oh, I am not going to punish _you_." He told her softly. "Someone else is accepting blame in your place."

Hanabi closed her eyes in pain.

_Oh no Hinata!_

Her lips became tight as she thought of how annoyingly sweet her sister was by being so noble. However, this time it neutralized her attack against their father.

She looked over at her father and knew he had her beat. He knew, like Hinata was with her, she would do anything to protect her big sister.

Hanabi breathed out raggedly.

"What do you want me to do father?" She asked him with demurely lowered eyes that sparkled mutinously like angry diamonds. Hanabi knew he may have won a partial victory in this round but she knew Hinata and her would find a way to defeat him. They would just have to do it together.

Hiashi looked over at his daughter and knew he had her over a barrel; she had only one real weakness that he knew about and that was her love for her sister.

"Repair my lawn." He told her angrily.

Folding her arms, Hanabi shook her head no.

"I cannot do that father, your lawn is dead forever." She told him tonelessly with a small smirk of triumph gracing her impassive face.

"Forever? That's ridiculous." Hiashi scoffed contemptuously. "We shall see about that." He told her harshly. He was an expert gardener, and there was no way he was going to live with that vulgar filth defiling his lawn any longer than was necessary.

A branch member appeared in his office behind them.

"Hiashi-sama, there is a committee at the gate; they say they are from your lawn club." The branch member told him respectfully with a bow.

Holding back her shocked laughter, Hanabi almost wet herself with the effort.

_Oh Kami, this is so perfect_. She thought to herself, as they couldn't have picked a better day to judge his lawn.

Hiashi breathed out a long suffering sigh as he thought how today wasn't turning out to be as excellent as he thought it would be.

"Allow them access into the compound and tell them I will be with them in a moment." Hiashi directed the branch member.

As she followed her father outside at a proper distance for appearances sake, Hanabi looked up and saw a group of people on the sidewalk staring at the lawn.

"What happened to your lawn, Lord Hyuuga?" The president asked him with a look of shock on his face before he bowed respectfully.

Not knowing what to say for once, Hiashi stood there and looked arrogantly back. Sneering, he didn't think it was necessary for him to answer those kinds of questions.

"I am in shock and…_awe_ at your brilliance, Lord Hyuuga." Another member gushed. "You took death to a whole new ama-zing level."

Hiashi stood there and looked at the group with a surprised sneer on his face as he realized the idiots were actually praising him for his vulgar and filthy, dead lawn.

"This is such an improvement over last year's boring lawn." The one lone female of the group said giving him a left-handed compliment.

"Tell me Lord Hiashi, what kind of statement are you trying to make with the picture in the middle of all that death?"

Hiashi looked at them openly as if they were all idiots. "Isn't it obvious to you people?" He sneered.

Oblivious to his contempt, they pressed on.

"Can you give us a little more information?… such as your inspiration for the picture? You know--your theme?" The female in the group pressed him.

Standing behind her father, Hanabi choked on her laughter and covered her mouth with her hands.

Sighing in affronted annoyance, he was not about to answer that question. _Of all the_… Hiashi was about to open his mouth when his daughter stepped forward to speak to the committee.

"I would have to say the theme is all about… sticking it to 'THE MAN.'" Hanabi told them politely and bit her lip in desperation as she tried to keep her composure.

_I am the man, damn it_. Hiashi thought arrogantly.

"Oh my," the woman said in awed tones. "So liberal and yet so deep…it just conveys so much."

"Impressive." Another man said. "I think he is a shoe-in to win this year."

A few of them bobbed their heads emphatically in agreement.

A frown marred Hiashi's forehead as he saw these people were actually considering giving him the best lawn award, it boggled his mind.

"We will be in touch Lord Hiashi," the president said firmly as the group was leaving. "I must say on behalf of this year's committee, your lawn is certainly…interesting."

Nodding his head with icy civility, Hiashi turned on his heel and began heading back toward the house with a mixed look of surprise and disgust on his face. It was all so utterly ridiculous, and yet in his mind he felt he deserved the award, as his daughter so eloquently said he was _the man_ after all.

After the committee left, Hanabi had run into the house and plopped down on her bed as insane laughter poured out of her and tears of outrage and mirth dripped down her face at how ridiculous it all was.

Instead of _hurting_ her bastard of a father, she had actually _helped_ him possibly win the best lawn award for the year.

"Gah…" She said as she punched her pillow and began laughing some more as she remembered the look on her father's face when they had asked him to explain the theme of his lawn…_Oh Kami!_

****The Uchiha POV****

**[The night before…]**

"Where are those damn Inuzukas, they should have been here a half hour ago." Tsunade complained impatiently before she took a swig out of her bottle of sake.

"Well, if they don't come soon I am going to get Sasuke and make him finish the job." Mikoto replied huffily as her diamond earrings shook back and forth. She and Tsunade had gotten dressed up to go out and all this waiting was around was cutting into their carousing time.

Tsunade walked over and looked outside at the yard with a speculative gleam in her eye.

"Forget about the Inuzukas, Mikoto…" she told her with a knowing smirk, "I have a better idea…"

Mikoto's eyes opened wide with surprised delight as she figured out what her mildly intoxicated friend was going to do.

_Of course, why didn't we think of it before?_ Her slightly tipsy mind thought with a devious grin as she looked over at Tsunade with excitement building in her.

I mean, if she was going to hire someone, she might as well hire the best. And no one was more awesomely destructive than the Hokage, especially when she was as tanked up on sake as she was right now.

"I hope you don't mind if I change the terrain of your yard for you?" Tsunade asked her with a knowing grin as she began to walk towards the door.

"Hell no, you just do your worst, dear." Mikoto told her as she waived her out the door and thought of how pissed her husband was going to be when he saw the sheer amount of damage done. Rubbing her hands in glee, she ran to her bedroom to get the camera ready for when Fugaku came home. She was going to take lots of pictures.

A few minutes later, crowds of Uchiha began to run out of their homes as the ground began to shake, thinking they were under attack.

Sasuke stopped them and didn't let any of them get any closer to the yard.

"We are not under attack," he reassured them flatly. Rolling his eyes with mocking contempt as he glanced towards his parent's house, "It is just the Hokage doing some yard work for my mother."

A group of youngsters stood there in awe as the Hokage, dressed in a black evening dress, touched the tip of her daintily shod foot to the ground and a massive crack splintered into enormous craters and mountains. Completely changing the terrain from the once flat and perfectly manicured grassy surface to something so completely obliterated, it was almost stunning in its desolation.

Dusting her hands off with aplomb for her audience the Hokage looked over at Sasuke.

"Now burn it." She ordered him.

His upper lip was smirking as he stepped forward and did what he was told. After all, he wasn't about to disobey the Hokage, it was his duty to incinerate what was left of his father's lawn.

Feeling a little pissed off at his father for being such an ass, he torched it a little extra. When he was finished the ground was nothing but smoking craters, craggy mountains and smoldering rubble.

"It's perfect." The Hokage said with a self-satisfied smirk as she surveyed hers and Sasuke's 'yard-work' before she went back inside the house.

"I'm done, let's go out."

Mikoto looked at her gratefully, "thank you Tsunade, it's so wonderful." She blubbered out almost tearfully as she reminded herself.

_It is better to lose a lawn, then to lose ones family_.

**[The morning after…]**

Mikoto opened her eyes and closed them as pain lanced through her blurry eyes.

_Oh Kami, I am never drinking again, _she told herself miserably.

Looking around, or more accurately, squinting around, she saw Sasuke was asleep in a chair (they made him come with them last night) and Tsunade was on the couch with a young male stripper strewn over her with his head buried in her ample chest.

At seeing her inebriated friend like that Mikoto giggled and tried to piece together what happened. A few minutes later a movement on the couch drew her eyes over towards them.

Amused, Mikoto watched as Tsunade's eyes took in the stripper on her with a confused look on her face.

"Who are you?"

"By the looks of the wedding rings on your fingers, I would say he is your husband." Sasuke deadpanned without even opening his eyes.

"Husband!" Tsunade shrieked and dumped the stripper off of her and he landed on the floor with a thud.

"I don't remember getting married." She groaned as she sat up and put her head in her hands.

Unable to resist, Mikoto sighed drolly, "Ah, how quickly some of us forget the tender, poignant moments in life…" She said shaking her head in mock dismay.

Tsunade picked up a pillow and threw it at her friend. "Shut up Mikoto, why didn't you stop me?" She said turning on her.

Mikoto put out her hands in front of her in a gesture of self defense. "I tried, but dearest, you are one very scary woman when you drink."

Tsunade grinned ruefully, admitted her friend did have a point.

"ANBU." She barked out and one magically appeared before her.

"Why the hell didn't you stop me?" She demanded as she flashed her wedding ring in his face. "Ugh, what do you people think a code red is all about?" Tsunade said shaking her head in irritation.

_Oh shit!_ The ANBU thought nervously and tried to think of a good excuse why no one stopped her.

"Whatever! I don't want to hear your excuses, just take him back to headquarters and arrange for a quick and… quiet divorce." She demanded crossly as she looked at the stripper.

The young and handsome stripper smiled slowly at her and Tsunade looked over at the ANBU.

"Wait. I um, am going to spend some time, um…interrogating… my new husband. You can come get him at the end of the weekend and proceed with the divorce then." She told him as she continued to look at her new husband.

Standing up imperiously and draping her arm around the stripper, the Hokage winked at Mikoto before she left. "So…what's your name?" She asked him on the way out…

The ANBU member quickly dissipated with relief.

Mikoto laughed at her friend's antics and glanced over at the clock with shock evident around her mascara-smeared eyes.

"Sasuke, where's the camera?" She said anxiously.

"It's right there on the table mother." He told her and began to get up to leave; he did not want to be around when his father got home.

"Oh no," his mother told him as she grabbed his arm. "You are not leaving, you are going to stay here and lend me moral support."

"Tch, no I am not." Sasuke told her bluntly.

"Well, you did torch your father's lawn you know?" Mikoto reminded him.

"I was ordered to by the Hokage."

Mikoto looked at him with big eyes. "Please Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed, "Fine, I'll stay." He told her, giving in.

"Oh thank you darling, you are the best." Mikoto told him as she pressed a kiss on his cheek and went to go get cleaned up before her husband got home.

oooOOOooo

Fugaku walked through the gates of the clan compound with satisfied smile on his face. Last night he had accomplished a great deal, even if he had been put on patrol duty by _the Hokage (bitch)_.

While he was on patrol duty he had apprehended almost singlehandedly, a burglar they had been trying to catch for months. And not only that, he foiled his wife's plan to have the Inuzuka clan come destroy his lawn.

Chuckling to himself at how smart he was, he thought of how he had one of his patrol-man cite them for walking their dogs without leases and breaking a city ordinance. They were forced to return back to their homes and when they came back he had a clan-member deny them entrance into the compound under his authority. Not wanting to start a clan war, the Inuzukas left peacefully.

As he turned around the corner, he expected to see his lovely green grass and received the shock of his life. Tears began to form in his eyes as he saw the charred black ruins, that were once his precious lawn. The sheer level of destruction left him momentarily speechless.

"Ah, Lord Uchiha." The president of the lawn club said politely as he approached him with his posse of people around him. "Your lawn is stunning! You are quite the trend-setter along with someone else this year." He told him in an admiring tone of voice.

"The black desolation of your lawn completely blows me away!" The female in the group almost gushed. "Tell me what was your theme for this massive display of black death?" She asked him curiously with big eyes.

"There was no theme," he told her bluntly. "And get the hell off my grass." He said with a glare when he saw she was standing on a patch of the only grass that was still alive.

After his little outburst there was an awkward silence among them.

"Well anyway, we love your yard this year Lord Uchiha and we have decided to name you and Hyuuga Hiashi co-winners of the Lawn of the Year. Congratulations!" The president told him in an excited voice and went to shake his hand.

Fugaku folded his arms. "No way. I will not share that award with him." He told them with a deep scowl on his stubborn face.

"But Lord Uchiha," the President spluttered out. "This a great honor and both of you far exceeded all other entrants into the contest. You either have to share the award or forfeit to him."

"Forfeit!" Fugaku roared in outrage. "No, you must find another way to break the tie, I will not share or forfeit to him." He told them with a sneer.

"Um, the committee and I will meet and discuss this situation and get back to you." He told him as they all ran off to get away from the crazy man.

"Tch, Idiots." He thought as he went to go inside his house and talk to his wife. He had to admit to himself, she had exceeded his expectations of what he thought she was capable of. The charred ruins of his once beautiful lawn was a stunning testament to remind him to never piss her off like that again.

He stopped walking when she walked into the room. Even after thirty years of marriage he still thought she was the most gorgeous woman on the face of the earth. She was magnificent and she was a worthy foe, who kept him sharp.

_Thank you Mikoto, my darling wife, _he thought to himself as he knew he could never let her know how he really felt or she would use it against him and he would really be screwed.

"Thanks to you I won the best lawn of the year award along with that asshole Hyuuga." He told her sarcastically and left to go find the name of some workers with bulldozers to begin digging up his lawn.

Mikoto sighed, wondering what it was going to take to get through to this stubborn man, at least she had a lot of pictures of his face after he saw his lawn. _They were priceless, he he._

She looked out the window and saw her son, Itachi, heading out into town. She hoped he would be dating Hinata soon. After they were married, and she had the chance to bobble her little grandchild on her lap, she would have the last laugh. And she hoped her son would too, he deserved it.

"Go be happy son—go win yourself a wife." She cheered him softly and went back to her room to nurse her massive hangover.

oooOOOooo

Hinata sat out the outdoor café a mass of nerves because it was their first date and she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Dating Naruto, did not prepare her for going out on a date with someone like Itachi. Besides that, it had been a weird day at home with that lawn war between her father and sister going on and somehow she had gotten in the middle of it.

She shook her head as she could not comprehend what caused her sister to be so rebellious against their father.

Sighing, she realized she might as well enjoy the time she had with Itachi, after her father handed out her punishment, she may not be going outside the compound for a while.

A shadow fell over her as Itachi stood next to the table. Looking up at him as he held out a single lavender colored carnation, the thought crossed her mind that she was beginning to think of _one reason_ to rebel against her father and he was standing right in front of her.

"I am sorry I am late, Hinata." He told her with cool politeness as he sat down across from her. He wasn't about to tell her that he had been throwing his guts up for most of the day and felt like hell.

Blushing, Hinata looked down at the table. "It's alright Itachi, I didn't have to wait long." She told him and was grateful that at least he showed up, Naruto left her waiting alone, too many times to count. She stared at the carnation in her hand and looked forward to pressing it in her book of special events in her life.

A pained look crossed over Itachi's face and he stood up suddenly.

"Excuse me Hinata, I will be back momentarily." He told her as he practically flew inside the building.

He came back out about five minutes later and looked very pale.

"Are you okay, Itachi?" Hinata asked him with concern on her face.

Itachi sat up straighter and looked at her firmly. "I am fine." He told her brusquely, determined to make it through this date no matter what, after all it was just a little stomach flu.

"Did you go to class this morning?" He asked her trying to get her attention away from his so called illness.

Hinata gave him a slightly disappointed smile. "Yes, I did." She told him and looked at the table again. "But they cancelled it because the Hokage is indisposed for the rest of the weekend."

Itachi rolled his eyes because he knew the reason why she was indisposed, thanks to his brother.

"Well, you can always study some more." He reminded her, hoping she would read through the journal and find the other message he wrote to her in code in there. _(__***AN**__: The one in the diagrams about decorating his house lol.)_

Hinata blushed at his mention of the journal. "I plan on studying it later when I get a chance." She told him and a shadow passed over her face when she thought about going home.

"What's the matter Hinata?" He asked her noticing the change in her mood.

Covering her face with her hands she breathed out a deep sigh. "It's my father." She choked out slightly and felt on the verge of tears.

"What did he do?" Itachi asked her in a dangerously calm voice.

Alarmed at his tone, she remembered what he did to Naruto when he upset her; she immediately pulled herself together and looked over at him with a slightly fake grin.

"Oh, it's nothing really,…just a family quarrel that I somehow got in the middle of." She told him lightly before she looked away from him and swallowed nervously.

Itachi's dark eyes flared for just a moment before he let it go, knowing they hadn't reached the point in their relationship where she felt she could tell him those things yet.

"May I take your order please?" The waiter asked both of them.

"Yes." Hinata spoke clearly, yet her eyes when she looked Itachi were firm.

"He would like some clear chicken broth and hot tea and I would like the same with a side order of plain white rice." She told him politely.

When the waiter left, she looked over at him and shook her head slightly in amusement. "You should have told me you were sick." She chided him softly. "I know you have to be feeling awful, I am still not over that illness."

"I wanted to see you." He replied simply as his hand touched hers.

Warmth spread over her face as his words made her melt.

"I um, wanted to see you too." She admitted to him as she looked at their hands next to each other on the table.

The waiter spoiled the moment as he brought them their food.

At the smell of food, Itachi's stomach lurched and he pushed it away.

Hinata pushed the soda water towards him feeling a bit like Hanabi in nursing mode. "Drink it." She warned him firmly.

Itachi looked at her and she reminded him of his mother. He took a sip.

After they were done eating, well in his case drinking soda water, Itachi paid the bill.

Hinata knew she should go home and face her punishment, but she didn't want to leave him knowing how sick he was. She had a feeling he would just go to bed and not even keep himself hydrated. Her chin became stubborn as she decided to rebel against her father for once. She was going to stay with Itachi and her father would just have to come looking for her if he wanted to talk to her.

Itachi looked at her and was going to say goodbye when she told him.

"I don't want to go home, I want to go to your house and…take care of you."

"Okay." He told her and wrapped his hand around hers...

**

_**Author's Note**_: I promise there will be a lot more Itahina in the next chapter. I kind of got stuck on the family interactions and the whole Nara beer thing came from one of my other stories, (CH. 28 of Beach Interlude, part III). I am weird, it just tore me up to take something so innocuous as beer and make it into something really toxic and soul-sucking lol. I am extremely tired as I have been really busy lately, but because you guys took the time to review I felt obligated to post another chapter asap. Thanks you guys, I will try to post another chapter over the weekend.

- I need ideas on a tiebreaker for their lawn competetion. If you think you have a good one, I am open to anything, no matter how silly or ridiculous it is, feel free to pm me. Thanks.

*****I had a few people ask me so I will clarify the part with the journal. Hinata found a message that no one else did, because in order to decode it, you needed to have a key that came from a library book they both had read. Sorry about the confusion, sometimes I am a little too subtle in my hints. She has not found the question where he asks her about decorating his house yet…


	9. Chapter 9

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 9~**

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Unlike the previous chapter, this one is relatively crack free. I forgot to warn you guys about Ch. 8 until Hewhoistomriddle (thanks) pointed it out to me. _

_**_

Walking hand in hand with Uchiha Itachi through the streets of Konoha was like flying a little too close to the sun. The glare of the spotlight, Hinata was finding out, was almost as bright and probably just as intense. Her heart pounded in her throat as everywhere she looked, people turned and stared at them with calculating eyes and whispered about them behind their hands to their neighbors.

After all, it wasn't every day the people of Konoha saw the scion of two of the most powerful clans in the village even speaking to each other, much less holding hands. The sight was by far the biggest news to hit the village gossip mill in a very long time.

Hinata didn't know if it was always like this for him, or if they were getting attention because they were being seen together for the first time and people were speculating whether they were a couple or not. She figured he was undoubtedly used to all of this attention, however, she knew she definitely was not. To her, the scrutiny was not only unbearably intrusive it was almost painful to someone as shy as her.

Desperate to flee all of those eyes on her, Hinata tried to pull away from him. Instead, he calmly held on tighter to her hand and pulled her closer to him. Unfortunately for Hinata, his small sign of affection and support was a double edged sword that both steadied her and made the swirling gossip and whispering around them even worse.

As she continued to walk with him through town, Hinata's mind was spinning and her father's face was in front of her threatening her with marriage to her distant relative if even the slightest mention of her name was linked with an Uchiha. Her palms began to sweat and she tried again to pull her hand out of his hand but his grip on hers was gentle but relentlessly firm.

Itachi looked over at her and saw her eyes were slightly panicky. Leaning closer towards her he whispered.

"I am not letting go of you."

"But…my father…" She blurted out anxiously.

Itachi turned and stepped in front of her and as he did, he blocked out the afternoon sunlight that was shining on them. Hinata stood there in his shadow and felt sheltered from more than just the sun, as he calmly looked down at her.

"Has no control over me." He told her with a finality that made her realize that she wasn't alone in all of this. And if he wanted to see her, then that is what he would do, no matter what her father said or did about it.

"Oh." Hinata said softly as his show of loyalty and the hint of possibly something more between them astonished her. Looking deeply into his dark eyes, Hinata forgot about the people around them and touched his face.

It was warm with fever and she could feel he was perspiring.

"Itachi!" She squeaked out, as concern for him immediately blocked out her other fears. "You are really sick."

Instead of answering her, he whisked her inside the closest store, which luckily was almost empty of people. He had noticed the audience they had accumulated all around them and the stunned silence that took place when she touched him.

Hinata blushed as she looked outside and saw all of the eyes turned toward the store they were in.

"How do you handle people watching you all the time?" Hinata asked in a shaky voice with an anxious frown on her face as she looked out the window and saw the crowd of people was finally beginning to disperse.

Itachi glanced outside with a slightly irritated look on his face. "I am used to it."

_I'm not_, Hinata thought as she sighed and lowered her eyes to the ground and wondered if she was going to be able to handle it. Being friends with Konoha's golden boy was a great deal more complicated than it was being with Naruto. It was frightening and exciting and not being a thrill-seeker by nature, Hinata avoided those things like the plague.

Itachi glanced over at her and didn't like the look on her face one bit. She looked ready to bolt before their fledgling relationship even had a chance to begin. Using his enhanced speed, he moved silently so he was standing next to her.

"Hinata," he said her name softly and his voice wrapped around her like a warm comfy blanket.

Her pulse began to race at his proximity to her, and she had no idea how he did it. One moment he was several feet from her and the next he was very close to her. Swallowing slightly, she felt his hands wrap around hers and put some money in them.

"Buy whatever supplies you need, I will be right back." He instructed her and then disappeared.

"Um, okay." Hinata answered a little breathlessly as her eyes looked to the area next to her where he used to be standing and smiled to herself in awe at how effortlessly amazing he was. To him, being an awesome ninja seemed about as difficult as breathing.

It made her feel a bit special that he trusted her enough to let her take care of him while he was sick.

Forcing herself to focus, she walked over and picked up a shopping basket and began gathering supplies to make broth and some medicine for his fever. Smiling to herself when she got to the cookie isle, she placed some almond cookies in her shopping basket, remembering how much he liked them the other night at the party.

After she paid for all of it and put the change in her pocket to give back to him later, she waited at the front of the store for him to come back.

"Hinata!" Tenten said excitedly as she came into the store and saw her. "Is it true what everybody is saying about you…are you really going out with… Uchiha Itachi?" She said his name in slightly hushed tones.

A horrified gasp escaped her lips and her stomach lurched at the news that gossip had already spread all over town to the point that even someone like Tenten knew about them. Tenten was always busy training or going on missions and rarely listened to gossip or things like that.

"Well, we are…friends, I guess." Hinata replied, blushing uncomfortably, as she was not quite ready to define what her relationship was to him yet.

Tenten snorted skeptically at her use of the word friends. "That's not what I heard. " She said with a knowing twinkle in her eyes. "I heard the two of you were spotted kissing in the middle of town."

Mortified, Hinata's eyes opened up wide at the lies that were already being circulated around town about them. If her father heard those rumors she was toast. She shook her head violently in denial.

"T-that's a lie." Hinata stated in quiet outrage, as she gripped the bags she was holding onto tightly. "We were only, um… holding hands." She replied weakly with a blush when she realized that didn't sound much better.

Tenten grinned hugely and was about to joke about how she was friends with Neji but they didn't go around town holding hands, when Neji walked through the door.

His eyes were heavy with disapproval as he looked at his cousin.

"Hinata, your father is looking for you and wants you to come home." He pronounced ominously to her like a stoic purveyor of gloom and doom.

_Oh no_. Hinata thought in alarm, wondering if her father has already found out her and Itachi.

"Does my father know about um …?"

"I don't know." Neji supplied flatly. "I think he is too upset about his dead lawn to worry about anything else right now."

Relief flooded through Hinata as she mentally thanked her sister for distracting her father. Glancing at her cousin her stomach sunk to her knees as she could tell by his face that he already knew everything.

"What are you doing with the Uchiha?" Her cousin demanded of her with hard eyes which Hinata saw were also laced with concern.

Neji had heard both of the Uchiha brothers had a reputation for callously dumping the girls they went out with usually within a short period of time after they started dating them. He was not about to let Hinata be treated in such a way after the eldest one became bored with her.

"W-we are… just friends." Hinata protested uneasily as her eyes looked over at Tenten who was rolling her eyes. "H-he is sick right now and I am going to go take care of him." She told him stubbornly as she wondered if maybe some of her sister's rebelliousness was starting to rub off on her. Her eyes were firm as she looked at her cousin. "I-I will… come home later… and deal with my father then…"

[Itachi's POV]

Leaning over and washing his face in the bathroom, Itachi looked up in the mirror and saw an ANBU Black Ops member appear behind him. By the markings on the mask he could tell the person was one of the members of the Hokage's personal staff. Besides he knew none of his team-members would dare to appear to him while he was in the bathroom unless it was critically urgent.

"Is there an emergency?" Itachi asked in a coldly impersonal voice without even turning around.

The ANBU member shifted slightly as he began to feel uncomfortable under his mask, replied hesitantly. "No."

"Then step outside, and I will be with you in a moment." Itachi told him and went back to finishing washing his face.

A few minutes later he met the ANBU member out in the hallway near the back of the store outside the bathrooms.

"My apologies, Uchiha-san for invading your personal space earlier." The member said politely before clearing his throat nervously and continuing.

"Because of improper handling and execution of a code red alert last night, ANBU Headquarters has directed that all members attend a mandatory emergency briefing to inform and re-educate all members on proper implementation of all codes and alerts."

Itachi mentally rolled his eyes; as he thought there was no way he was going to sit through a meeting and listen on how to keep the Hokage under control when she goes out drinking and gambling.

"Please inform the leadership I need to be excused from attending, due to illness. My lieutenant can go in my place and fill me in on all of the details."

"Hai, Uchiha-san," he replied respectfully before dissipating.

As he walked down the hallway, Itachi spotted Hinata talking to her cousin and another Kunoichi that he had seen before but had never met. When he reached them he placed his hand possessively on the small of Hinata's back and immediately took the bag of groceries from her.

"Hyuuga-san." He said as he greeted her cousin with cool politeness.

"Uchiha-san." Neji replied with equal coolness and a slight amount of hostility in his eyes as he took in the way the Uchiha was touching his cousin.

The atmosphere became tense as the two alpha male geniuses stared each other down. Completely impervious to the hostility in the Hyuuga's glance, itachi stared back with cool aloofness.

After a few moments, Neji's eyes narrowed at how easily the other neutralized him and made him feel slightly intimidated by just being in his presence. It was something he rarely ever experienced and he felt reluctantly impressed by the other.

Hinata stood next to Itachi and looked with growing apprehension from one to the other and attempted to soothe the situation before it became worse.

"Um, Itachi?" She asked him and waited for him to give her his attention. "This is my friend Tenten." She told him softly as she gestured to her cousin's team-mate.

Tenten's eyes opened wide at Hinata's use of the Uchiha's first name. It was a well-known fact around Konoha that he was so unapproachable that he only allowed family to call him by his first name and it was jokingly said that not even all of them were allowed to do so.

She glanced at Hinata and became even more skeptical of her claim that they were just friends. It was as obvious as the Uchiha's hand resting on her friend's back that something more was going on between them.

"Tenten-san," Itachi said with flawlessly polite but slightly remote manners as he nodded to her.

Bowing with proper respect, Tenten responded. "Uchiha-san." She fought the urge to blush as she felt his dark eyes on her. Her eyes scanned his face and she took in the resemblance to his obnoxiously arrogant younger brother, Sasuke.

Tenten decided out of the two of them Itachi was by far the more impressive of the two. Sasuke was just too blunt and conceited for her to like, while Itachi seemed to be much calmer and not as arrogant to her.

Catching Hinata's eye, Tenten winked at her and felt a tiny bit jealous. Hinata blushed slightly at her friend's teasing and looked over at Itachi.

"Ready, Hinata?" Itachi asked her quietly.

Hinata looked at him and took in the weariness around his eyes and knew he still wasn't feeling well. Looking over at her cousin she saw his eyes and body language reminding her about her father and warning her to not get too close to the Uchiha.

For a moment she felt torn between the two of them and then the comforting pressure of Itachi's hand on her back helped her to decide. Her father would just have to wait, because _her friend_ needed her now.

"Yes Itachi, I am ready to go with you." She answered him calmly as her chin lifted slightly in defiance as she looked at her cousin.

As Hinata spoke to the Uchiha standing next to her, Neji watched them closely and was surprised by the quiet sense of intimacy that ran between the two and seeing the almost unguarded way the Uchiha looked at her, he began to realize this was clearly no casual fling. He had a feeling the Uchiha's intentions toward his cousin were honorable.

_At least they had better be._ Neji thought with narrowing eyes.

Watching his cousin as she left the building, he thought about her unexpected show of rebellious stubbornness by refusing to go home with him, with approval. He wished she would stand up to her bastard-father more often.

Trusting his instincts about the situation, he decided to cover for her and provide an excuse about her whereabouts tonight to give to her father.

oooOOOooo

Hinata took a deep breath as she followed him through the main gate of the Uchiha clan compound and thought for a sick person he moved awfully fast.

Itachi glanced back at her and stopped for a moment so she could catch up to him. After they had left the store he was not in the mood to deal with anymore people or prying eyes, he just wanted to get home as quickly and inconspicuously as possible.

As they neared his house, Hinata's jaw dropped when she saw the burned out desolate crater that used to be his father's lawn.

"What happened to your father's lawn?" She asked him in stunned tones.

Itachi mentally rolled his eyes at the aftermath of his parents foolish bickering.

"My parents had a disagreement," he explained to her somewhat evasively as he didn't want to discuss it with her since his parents argument was partially because of her and her father.

Hinata's eyes bulged slightly as she surveyed the black desolation and the sheer amount damage incredulously. Privately, she decided she would hate to see what would happen between his parents if they really got into a serious fight.

She looked at him almost amused as she thought about her sister and her "lawn-war" with her father at her house.

"My sister did something similar to my father and burned an obscene gesture into his lawn last night." Hinata told with him with a commiserating look on her face, as she shook her head slightly and wondered what was going on with their families lately.

An amused light flashed through Itachi's eyes as he realized what he saw them doing the other night when he left wasn't yard work, but sabotage.

A shadow crossed Hinata's features and she looked down at the ground.

"I told my father, I did it." She told him a bit sadly because she knew she probably wouldn't be seeing him much lately after her father decided her punishment. Not only that, most people didn't understand her need to protect her younger sibling from her father's wrath.

Itachi glanced back at her his eyes told her he understood only too well.

"I do the same for my brother." He admitted to her as he opened his front door and gestured for her to enter.

Hinata looked at him and wasn't at all surprised that he did things like that for his brother. She could tell the two of them were very close.

Watching him as he put the groceries away, she walked over beside him and took some pills out of a bottle and handed it to him. "This will help your fever, Itachi."

"Thank you." He told her with a trace of warmth in his voice as he looked at her and his hands lingered on hers as he took the pills out of her hands. She could tell he was also thanking her for coming over and wanting to take care of him.

"You're… welcome," she replied in a slightly squeaky voice as his nearness to her was making her pulse race in her throat as she looked up at him and gently placed her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

Hinata's breath caught when he slowly closed his eyes beneath her touch and she could feel herself sinking lower and lower into fan-girl depths. Her reaction to the merest touch from him was surprising to her, because she had never felt that way when she was with Naruto.

In fact, while she was dating Naruto, she had felt almost guilty because whenever he kissed her she felt very little and sometimes she even felt repulsed as it somehow felt wrong to kiss him. She had thought there was something wrong with her, that maybe she wasn't capable of feeling more for someone in that way.

Being around Itachi proved to her just how wrong she was. Sighing to herself, she looked up at him and saw he had been watching her with an almost contemplative look on his face.

"Take away my fever Hinata." Itachi asked her suddenly.

"You want me to do what?" Hinata blurted out to him in shocked confusion before it dawned on her what he was asking her to do. Feeling a bit foolish at her overactive imagination, she blushed as she looked away from him, biting her lower lip.

"I-I'm afraid I haven't learned how to do that yet…we are… scheduled to go over that healing technique in a few weeks." She told him apologetically and suddenly felt the urge to poke her fingers together as nerves were beginning to get the best of her.

"I will teach you." Itachi stated patiently.

"You will?" She repeated mindlessly as she looked up into his dark eyes.

"Yes." He told her as he moved even closer to her with his body almost touching hers. Lifting up his hands in front of him with his palms facing her he guided her to lay her hands flatly against his with her forearms resting against his.

Taking a deep breath as she felt the warmth radiating off of him, she made herself focus and tried desperately to be professional in this situation and kept telling herself that he was sick and needed her help.

"Now what?" She asked him in a slightly breathless voice as she looked up at him.

"Slowly begin releasing your chakra from your hands and gradually extend it out until it covers all of me." Itachi told her and watched as she closed her eyes and focused on extending out her chakra.

Over the next few minutes, beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as she found the level of concentration necessary to keep the flow of healing chakra steady and extend it outward was extremely difficult to maintain.

"Now, begin pulling back your chakra very slowly." He instructed her as his eyes continued to watch her face. "As you retract your chakra, focus on absorbing the fever into it."

Hinata nodded her head letting him know she understood his instructions as she had already went over retracting and absorbing techniques in training.

Throughout all of it Hinata kept her eyes closed and tried not to think of who it was standing so close to her. A few minutes later, when she couldn't feel any more residue chakra around him she opened her eyes with self-satisfied smile at accomplishing her task and her eyes locked straight onto his.

Warmth spread all over her body as she realized he had been watching her the whole time. As if in slow motion, Hinata lifted up her hand and laid it along the side of his face.

Her face lit up when she noticed his temperature was back to normal.

"Do you feel a little better?" She asked him a little hesitantly.

"Yes. Thank you." Itachi told her unemotionally as he stepped away from her.

Hinata felt almost absurdly happy that she had been able to help him as she looked at him and then noticed he was still tired and pale looking.

"Why don't you go rest while I make some broth for you to have later?" She told him as she opened up a cabinet and began searching for a pan to boil the chicken she bought in.

"Okay." Itachi replied as he reached over and found her a large pot in one of the cabinets and set it on the stove for her. Before he turned around and left her, he touched her shoulder in a light caress and then began to walk out of the room.

Hinata released a soft sigh as her eyes followed him as he walked toward the door. An irrepressible smile lit her face as she got to work making broth for him.

After spending a couple of enjoyable hours cooking in the kitchen, Hinata wanted to go explore the small conservatory room in the center of the courtyard. The last time she was here she didn't get a chance to go inside of it and she was curious about what he kept in there.

As she walked off the deck she saw a small koi pond with little fishes swimming around and lily pads on the top of it. The small conservatory was built out of a heavy black metal with a bowed roof that had several skylights and windows surrounding it that let in natural sunlight.

Opening the door, she breathed in the frangrant smell of orange blossoms and saw there were several fruit trees near the front. The floor was made of natural stone tiles and was covered with a large beige floor mat. Loooking towards the back she saw several bookcases overflowing with books and scrolls of all sizes and shapes.

Immensely curious to see what types of books he liked to read, Hinata hurried over there and began reading through the titles. She saw he had everything from religion and politics to traveling and many books on advanced chakra control. Her eyes lit up when she spotted several books on code breaking.

Looking in the corner she spotted a large rattan papasan chair and plopped down in it and began reading through one of the books. A light blush covered her cheeks as she wondered if he also had code breaking as a hobby, she thought it was likely considering the way he had asked her out.

Sighing happily, Hinata snuggled down into the soft cushion and let herself get lost in the secretive world of code breaking. It wasn't long before all of the events of the last few days caught up with her and she fell fast asleep…

Itachi woke up and saw that it was dark outside. He was feeling much better and almost felt like he could eat something. After he cleaned himself up he headed out to the kitchen.

When he walked through the door he switched on the light and saw a large pan of broth on the stove and turned it on to heat it up. For a moment he thought Hinata had left, but then he sensed her chakra. He could tell by the calmness of it, she was sleeping.

Deciding to let her sleep longer, he dished himself up a bowl of broth and some rice. After he sat down to eat, he found that it was delicious and his stomach had no trouble tolerating it.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he sensed her chakra still lingering in the room. As he stood up to put his dishes in the sink, he thought of how his house felt like more of a home to him whenever she was around.

oooOOOooo

The sound of a bulldozer outside woke her up and Hinata sat up in alarm, not knowing where she was at. Looking around at the room bathed in the bright morning sunlight, she was surprised to see she was back in her bedroom at home. A blush covered her face when she realized she must have been so exhausted last night that she didn't even remember him carrying her home.

Sadness began to overtake her when she realized she didn't get to say goodbye to him. As she went to get up from her bed she saw the note he had written her on some stationery from her desk. She giggled to herself, when she opened it and saw he had used her purple pen.

Her heart began to race as she read what he wrote.

_I have to go on a mission, I will see you in a few days. Itachi_

The elation she initially felt when she saw he wanted to see her again soon wore off when she realized she still had to speak to her father. On that unhappy note she folded up his note and put it in her pocket and began getting ready for her day.

_**Author's Note**_: Thanks to everyone who left me a review and all of you who put my story on alert. I appreciate your comments and feedback so much. I am planning on probably 3 or 4 more chapters to go before I end this story. I really need to finish it and get back to work on Itachi's Ghost. Anyway, please let me know what you think of this chapter and I will post another one within a day or two. I have already started on chapter 10 lol.


	10. Chapter 10

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 10~**

* * *

To say the last few days crawled by slowly would have been a gross understatement in Hinata's opinion. In her mind it seemed time had almost stopped completely. The last few days blurred together into tortuous gray nothingness.

Her stomach was tied in knots and sleeping was nearly impossible for her. Whenever she tried to study she sat there and looked at the journal he gave her and could only admire his penmanship.

To make it worse, her father hadn't spoken to her at all, so she still didn't know how or when he was going to punish her. Whenever he was around her he would only stare at her with a strange almost speculative look on his face and before he would just ignore her completely.

Hinata was a wreck, a bundle of nerves, distracted and completely on edge.

Sighing to herself as she walked to her training class, she knew there was only _one thing_ that was going to make it all better for her. She pulled out the now crumpled looking note he gave her and lightly ran her finger over the writing on it and noticed the fact that it was written in purple ink still made her smile.

"Hinata wait up!"

She heard her sister's strident voice yell out to her and hurriedly shoved Itachi's note back into her pocket.

"Yes Hanabi?" She replied somewhat distractedly when her sister caught up to her.

Hanabi looked at her older sister with worried eyes and blamed some of it on that bastard father of theirs. He was obviously plotting something against Hinata but she hadn't been able to find out what yet.

"You look tired Sis." Hanabi stated bluntly.

Hinata smiled wanly at her little sister thinking how overprotective she was sometimes.

"I am fine." She replied with a falsely reassuring smile.

Hanabi rolled her eyes skeptically.

"Whatever....I just wanted to let you know Lady Mikoto sent me a message after you left, inviting us to lunch and shopping with her. She wants to help us find dresses to wear for the Valentine's Day party."

A spark of interest entered Hinata's eyes at the thought of having Mikoto's help with finding a dress for the party. If left on her own, Hinata would have just ended up wearing last year's dress. Shopping for clothes and poring over fashion magazines just wasn't her thing.

However, this year was different-- she wanted to look her best, in case _he_ attended.

"Okay, where do you want me to meet you?"

"We'll meet you in front of the hospital and walk to the shopping district from there." Hanabi told her sister as she began walking away. A frustrated grin formed on her face as she hoped the Uchiha would get back from his mission soon, so her sister would finally stop moping around.

"Okay, bye Hanabi." Hinata said as she waved to her sister and headed over to her training class.

oooOOOooo

Staring out the window during class, Hinata doodled on her paper with her purple pen and tried to concentrate on the material being taught at the front of the small classroom by Shizune. Looking at the sky and the puffy clouds she knew she it was no use, she could only think about Itachi and how he said he would be back from his mission today.

Her lips curved in a soft smile as she remembered how his lips touched her forehead lightly when he laid her down the other night, she had thought she had dreamt it, but she knew it really happened.

Tapping her purple pen against her lips, she hoped he wanted to see her again…

"Class dismissed." Shizune told the class. Turning toward Hinata she beckoned her towards her.

"Hinata, come see me for a moment before you leave."

Gathering up her books with a sigh, Hinata was upset at herself for allowing her personal life to interfere with her ninja duties. She took her job as a ninja extremely seriously and always took pride in herself that she never allowed anything to keep her from performing at her very best. Tightening her lips slightly in determination, she promised herself she would do better tomorrow and be completely on task—no matter what.

"You wanted to see me Shizune?" Hinata asked her when she came up to her desk.

"Y-es Hinata," the older ninja replied somewhat hesitantly. "I've noticed you're not as focused as you normally are while you are here. Is everything alright with you?"

Hinata was somewhat touched at Shizune's concern for her, but still felt bad for allowing her emotions to distract her from what was really important in her life.

"I-I'm sorry Shizune, I promise to be more focused from now on." Hinata replied a little evasively. It had been drummed into her since childhood to never disclose family or personal problems to anyone. She was to bear her burdens silently and never complain, because that was the Hyuuga way.

"Okay, well I am here if you need me and I expect you to come back tomorrow focused and ready to go, I don't want you to fall behind."

"I'm not worried about that." Hinata admitted to her as she pulled the journal out that Itachi wrote for her and showed it to her. "I've been getting some help with training."

"What is this?" Shizune asked her curiously. "I've seen you reading it, but just thought it was some notes you took in class."

Blushing, Hinata looked at the notebook. "They're not my notes, Uchiha Itachi gave them to me…he told me he went through the course before he entered ANBU Black Ops."

Shizune looked at her with a knowing smirk on her face. "So the rumors about the two of you are true, huh?"

_Which ones?_ Hinata thought with bitter amusement as she let out a frustrated sigh. Over the past few days she has had to fend off rumors about the two of them that at times bordered on the ridiculous.

"We are only friends." Hinata answered weakly, without much conviction in her voice.

Shizune didn't answer as she was reading through the notes with a slightly amazed look on her face.

"These notes are incredible; he broke it all down so simply that it would be impossible to not be able to understand it." She said more to herself than to Hinata. Looking up she saw the Hokage outside the door.

"Lady Tsunade, I need to show you something." She called out to her boss.

"What is it Shizune?" The Hokage asked impatiently as she walked into the classroom.

"Uchiha Itachi wrote these notes out for Hinata from when he took the medic training course before entering ANBU."

Raising her eyebrows with curiosity, Lady Hokage took the notebook from her and began scanning through it.

After only a few minutes she had already made up her mind, this material needed to be published and used as additional training material in the basic medic course. Looking through the back of the journal she decided the information on advanced chakra training should be published separately and given to the academy for the students to use over there.

"He never ceases to amaze me." Lady Tsunade said shaking her head in amused incredulousness.

"Why is that?" Hinata asked her with a slight frown on her forehead.

"I wasn't here at the time, but I have heard that Uchiha Itachi holds the record for passing the medic course and survival course in the shortest time ever. What normally takes six full weeks of training…he learned in just one day…and completely aced both tests the next morning." She told her in slightly awed tones as even she who was an acclaimed medical genius didn't pass the course as quickly as he did.

"The scary part of all it is…" Shizune added with a grin, "I heard he was only about 11 years old when he did it."

Hinata sat there and listened fascinated as she heard just how incredibly smart he really was. It made her like him even more because he never flaunted his intelligence or tried to make people feel like idiots around him, like her cousin sometimes did.

"Hinata, I need to borrow this and get copies made of it." The Hokage told her and Hinata knew she had to give it up, as it wasn't a request.

She nodded her head and felt a little lost without it, the last few days it never left her side except when she was training and even then she took it with her. In fact she even slept with it.

Tsunade looked at her with amusement and realized the rumors and what Mikoto told her about the two of them were true, they were definitely a couple.

Looking at the relationship rationally, she thought it would be perfect not only for the two of them, but also for the village. An alliance between the Hyuuga and Uchiha would finally put an end to the stupid bickering between the two clans. And when she thought about the offspring they would produce together, she became positively gleeful.

"I'll give the notebook back to you next week." Tsunade promised Hinata as she handed it to Shizune to take care of it.

"Okay." Hinata replied as her shoulders drooped a tiny bit.

"Hinata, would you like to join me for lunch?" The Hokage asked her as the younger ninja was leaving, seeing her as a good chance to escape for a while.

"Well, I am already supposed to meet my sister and Lady Uchiha to go to lunch and then shopping." She told her apologetically.

At the mention of lunch, shopping and Lady Uchiha all in one sentence, the Hokage was already grabbing her things.

"I'll be right back Shizune." She told her assistant as she was walking out the door and pulling Hinata along with her, and was gone before Shizune could even begin to complain.

Releasing a super long suffering sigh, Shizune walked over and pushed a button and an ANBU member appeared.

"Okay, I am ordering a code pink for now, which if they are still out after 2000 hours tonight, will become a code red."

"Hai, understood ma'am." The ANBU member said and swallowed nervously before he dissipated. He knew this time if the Hokage ended up married to someone, heads were definitely going to roll.

oooOOOooo

A couple hours later of hanging out with the Hokage and Mikoto, Hinata and Hanabi were beginning to feel exhausted and couldn't bear the thought of going into anymore stores. They were both carrying bags full of clothes the older ladies told them they just had to have.

Hinata thought about the clothes in the bags and had to admit, Mikoto and the Hokage had excellent taste. Her and Hanabi were about the same when it came to shopping for clothes, neither one of them liked it. Most of the formal kimonos and the clothes they had to wear to dinner were provided by the clan's seamstresses.

"Gah, this shopping is cutting into my training time." Hanabi complained to her sister when she got her alone for a moment.

"Well, you have to admit you are going to look great in that workout outfit Mikoto made you buy." Hinata told her with a smile trying to stay positive.

"Whatever." She scoffed. "When I get a body like yours, then maybe I will care about what I put on it. Right now, I just end up destroying all my clothes during training."

Hinata blushed at her sister's compliment but noticed her clothes were hanging on her slightly after losing so much weight from her bout with the stomach flu and then last few days she just hadn't felt like eating much.

In front of them, Mikoto and the Hokage spotted a formal dress shop and were already heading toward it with a single minded intensity that was beginning to make Hinata and Hanabi a little nervous as they both knew it was going to be a while before they got out of this store.

"Oh crap." Hanabi complained.

"Well Hanabi, we still need dresses for the Valentine's day party." Hinata told her reasonably.

"I know, let's just get this over with." Her sister replied irritably.

An hour later Hanabi was sitting in a chair almost chomping at the bit to leave when Hinata came over to her and told her she had one last dress to try on and then they would leave.

Mikoto and the Hokage had noticed Tenten when she came in and saw she had no taste what-so-ever, they just had to help her out. They were fighting over what color would look best for her when Hinata stepped out of the dressing room and stood in the front of the store in front of a large three way mirror.

"So, w-what do you think?" She asked them with a slight blush. The back was still open slightly as she couldn't close it all the way. The dress was lavender shot with silver threads sewn through it so that when the light hit it just right, it shimmered a silvery mist color.

"You look lovely, dear." Mikoto told her mistily as she dabbed a tear from her eye. "You look just like your mother did when she was your age."

Everyone began to gush over her and Hinata was slightly embarrassed by all of the attention. Turning to look at herself in the mirror, she thought she looked nice but didn't know what all the fuss was about.

Just as she began walking towards the fitting room to change, Itachi walked through the front door and stood there frozen after he saw her.

Hinata turned when she saw the door open and saw him standing there and seeing the almost stunned expression on his face her heart slammed into her ribs as she stared back at him.

Itachi quickly pulled himself together as he began walking toward her and noticed all of the eyes watching the two of them. A few of them he noticed belonged to his mother and the Hokage.

Tired of people always watching the two of them, he used his chakra-enhanced speed and propelled himself to the back of the store and swept her into the fitting room, closing the door behind them with a decisive snap.

Out of breath and in a very tight space the two of them stood there almost touching as they stared at each other.

"You're back." Hinata breathed out the first thing she could think of to say.

"Yes, my team and I returned from our mission about an hour ago." Itachi told her as his warm onyx eyes began to slowly search her face and drift lower.

After reporting in to headquarters, he immediately took a shower, changed clothes and came looking for her. In his need to see her, he hadn't even been home yet.

Hinata swallowed nervously as she watched as he put his hands around her face and began lowering his head towards hers.

Her heart began hammering like a wild captive bird when she saw he was going to kiss her.

_Oh kami!_

A surge of excitement swept through her as she lifted her face eagerly toward his, Hinata slowly began to close her eyes as his mouth touched hers. Sliding her hands around his shoulders she leaned into him as she felt his hands burying themselves in her hair and pulling her closer to him.

Knock-Knock-knock, a cane rapped against the door.

"You two get out of there--I need to use it. Go make out somewhere else." A crotchety old lady griped through the door.

"Back off old lady," Mikoto threatened as she bore down on her, bristling in defense of her future grandchildren. The irritated old lady quickly left when she saw the Hokage standing behind her with folded arms.

"It's alright now, my dears, you just take all the time you need." Mikoto told them soothingly through the door before walking away.

Grinning and blushing at the absurdity of it all, Hinata buried her warm face in his chest. She began to melt into him when she felt his hand caress the nape of her neck. After a few moments of holding her he backed away from her and looked down at her.

"Have dinner with me tonight?" He asked her as his warm eyes roamed over her face.

"Alright, where do you want to go?" She replied breathlessly without any hesitation as she felt herself sinking further into depths of those dark eyes of his.

"Denali's" Itachi stated in a low voice before leaning over and trailing sensual kisses down the side of her face. "I will pick you up at your house at seven."

Hinata froze as she remembered her father. She just knew it would get ugly if Itachi came to her house to take her out.

"No, I will… meet you there." She told him in a slightly tremulous voice as she prayed he wouldn't dig deeper into the reason why she didn't want him meeting with her father.

As Itachi looked down at her and saw how anxious she became at the mention of him going to her house, he knew it had to be something with her father.

"Fine, I will meet you there." He conceded not wanting to upset her further.

Hinata looked up at him with gratitude. "I will, um… talk to you about it later." She promised him hesitantly with a weak smile.

He nodded before he made a hand-sign and began to fade out.

Collapsing against the side of the fitting room, Hinata lightly touched her lips to remind herself he had been here with her and…kissed her.

Noise from outside soon brought her back to reality and forced her to begin to change her clothes. As she got dressed, a dazed smile lit her face as she thought of going out with him and hoped maybe he would kiss her again…

Standing outside the dressing room door, Mikoto waited for Hinata to come out. As she waited her mind kept replaying the way her son had stared at Hinata. She had never seen him look at anything or anyone like that before; she had seen a rare but fleeting and unguarded glimpse of just how much her son cared for her and was stunned.

In his whole life, Itachi had never needed anyone, in fact, she mused to herself, he practically raised himself to supremely self-sufficient adulthood with very little help from her or Fugaku. And throughout the years, he proceeded to raise Sasuke as well. Even when he was younger, he was always more of an adult than he ever was a child.

She knew deep down he loved all of them, especially Sasuke, but she had always wondered if he had the emotional capacity to care for others in a normal sense or for some reason he was just indifferent to it all.

Smiling secretly to herself as she looked at the door, she realized her son did indeed have the capacity to love, and judging by the way he looked at Hinata, it was probably more than most people had.

Hinata stepped outside the door and was shocked when Mikoto pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, dearest." Itachi's mother whispered emotionally.

Hinata clung to her not quite understanding why Mikoto was acting that way but was touched by it nonetheless.

"Well, I am not sure what I did…but you're welcome." She replied with gentle politeness.

Mikoto just smiled at her and shook her head as she thought just how perfect she was for her son.

"Never mind dear," she said as she tucked her arm around Hinata and began leading her to the front of the store. "So, where is he taking you tonight?"

Blushing profusely, Hinata muttered weakly. "Denali's."

At her mention of Konoha's swankiest and most romantic restaurant they all squealed and gathered around her, except for Hanabi who was supremely bored by all of it and just wanted to go home.

Within moments the Hokage and Mikoto found a stunning black dress and forced her back into the dressing room.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking, Mikoto?" The Hokage asked her friend suddenly as they looked at the dressing room door.

A knowing grin lit her features as she smiled back at her. "Oh yeah, I am with you on this one."

They both looked at each other and said the word out-loud. "Make-over!"

Inside the fitting room Hinata blanched and prepared herself for a long couple of hours.

_**_

**Author's Note:** I had the scene in my mind with Itachi seeing Hinata dressed up for a long time and I look forward to writing the next scene as they go out on a date with the whole town watching them. If I get enough response, I will post it tomorrow. Thanks to all of you for making writing so fun for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this story and there is more to come. You guys are wonderful.

**Manga spoiler commentary: **(Sigh) I think it is pretty damn sad that Sasuke's fate is up to dumbass Naruto. It makes me more determined than ever to change his fate in my other story (IG) as it is just so pathetic and screwed up to see the way things are turning out. Ugh, I am frustrated, to say the least.


	11. Chapter 11

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 11~**

* * *

**Warning: **Itahina (and lots of it lol)

**

As Itachi sat at the secluded booth he found for them and waited for her, he thought over the past couple of days. Looking down at the flickering golden candle in the center of the table a grim smile formed on his lips as he was sure the last mission he went on was by far the worst execution of his ninja duties in his nearly spotless career.

Over the past few days he had been irritable, and distracted to the point he felt he was sleepwalking as he and his team escorted a wealthy prince back to his country. He was grateful the trip was uneventful, which was an unusual occurrence for any of the missions his team was assigned to. Because of their incredible success rate and insane level of skill they were only given the most difficult assignments.

Picking up his water and taking a sip, Itachi knew he had pushed his team far too hard to get home. They made it back to Konoha in half the time it normally takes. He couldn't help himself; he had to get back to her.

He missed her with a raw ache that nothing but seeing her would alleviate.

Looking up when he sensed her presence he watched as she talked to the maitre de and felt like he could breathe again.

As Hinata entered the restaurant a surreal feeling came over as she felt like it was all happening to someone else. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she felt she definitely didn't look like she normally did. Stifling the urge to pull up the front of her black dress to cover up some of her cleavage, she desperately tried to calm the butterflies dancing in her stomach.

Walking near the front desk, she politely asked to be seated at the Uchiha table and saw several curious eyes turn all at once in her direction. The spotlight was once again on her with full force as she walked toward his table.

Looking up ahead, she spotted him and felt her heart begin to flutter wildly in her chest. He was just so amazing and looked so incredibly good dressed mostly in black; she still couldn't believe he wanted to see her.

A rosy blush crept up her face when she saw he was staring at her, his gaze was intense but his face was his normal aloof expression. Keeping her eyes focused on him, she stood up taller and blocked out the crushing nervousness she felt by having so many people stare at her.

When she finally made it his table, she watched as he stood up and as his eyes raked over her in admiration before he seated her, it made the last few hours of torture almost worth it.

The Hokage and Mikoto had found a knee length black evening dress that was cut in a v-neck that was far too low cut in her opinion. It was a good thing she never went home because her father would have never let her out of the house dressed the way she was.

The diamond necklace and bracelet Mikoto loaned her sparkled in the candlelight as she allowed him to seat her.

After he sat down across from her, Hinata looked up from staring at the table and met his eyes as she felt his eyes on her face. Warmth coursed through her when he covered her hand with his and leaned toward her.

"You look beautiful." He told her simply as his warm gaze traveled over her and hovered over her mouth for just a moment almost as if he was telling her he wanted to kiss her...again.

Breathlessly, she looked away from him and whispered. "Thank you."

Unused to compliments or anyone staring at her that way, Hinata began to feel uncomfortable, but in a very nice way. It was immensely gratifying to have someone think she was pretty especially after her previous relationship with Naruto had gone so badly.

Feeling a little bit more confident, she made the mistake of looking straight into his eyes and felt herself being drawn into them once more.

Hinata was grateful when the waiter came up to their table and poured them some wine and set their menus in front of them.

Clearing her throat a little nervously, she asked him in a conversational manner.

"Have you ever been here before?"

Itachi looked up from his menu. "Once," he answered briefly. "A few years ago with family for my mother's birthday."

Hinata glanced at her menu and was glad he didn't bring another girl here.

"Same here, I brought my sister here for her fourteenth birthday."

Silence reigned over the table as they both perused their menus.

Hinata set hers down and watched him as he looked through his menu and admired the way his dark hair fell around his face. Feeling her eyes on him he looked over his menu at her and smiled.

His smile was fleeting but it made her knees feel weak. Feeling shaken, by the intensity of her feelings for him, she lifted up her wine glass and took a sip.

Thankfully for her, the waiter came by and took their orders. Still a little flustered, Hinata forgot what she wanted to order and just murmured she would have the same thing Itachi was having.

The waiter took their menus and left to put in their order. Itachi immediately reached over and settled his hand over hers.

"How has your training been going?" He asked her with bland politeness.

Hinata looked away and thought to herself, _horrible, I missed you and I couldn't focus._

She looked at him and closed her eyes for a second when she realized she couldn't remember even a single thing from the last two classes she attended.

A light entered her eyes when she remembered one thing from today's class.

"I um, showed Shizune and the Hokage the notebook you gave me and they took it from me and are going to publish it as additional material for the medic course." She told him happily, thinking he would be pleased.

At her news Itachi paled slightly. Looking away from her sharply he mentally cringed as he thought of the coded messages that he left for her in it. That notebook was the closest thing to a love letter that he had ever written and it was going to be published.

_Damn._

The idea made him feel uncomfortable to say the least.

He looked at her and thought about how the whole question of his asking her to decorate his house was really all along just an indirect marriage proposal.

His mother would probably be the only one who knew what that question really meant, as it was what he told her when she kept harassing him to let her decorate his house for him after he first moved in.

He had responded to her back then; the only person who was going to be allowed to do it… was his future wife.

Hinata looked over at him and a slight frown began to form on her forehead.

"Itachi?" Hinata asked him a little nervously when she saw he didn't seem too thrilled by the idea. "You don't mind do you?"

Glancing over at her worried face, he knew he had no choice but to let it be published and hoped the encoded messages remained hidden.

"No." He lied flatly. "It's fine with me."

At his words a relieved smile lit her face. "I'm glad; they told me they would give it back to me next week."

The waiter came to their table with their food. Hinata blanched slightly when she saw the seafood on it. She was not a big fan of shrimp at all. At least there was pasta on her plate and vegetables so she wouldn't go hungry.

Schooling her face to look normal, she used her chopsticks to nonchalantly push the shrimp over to the side of her plate. Looking across at him, she saw he was watching her with what appeared to be only polite interest.

"How is your dinner?" He asked her placidly with a slight gleam in his eyes.

A small smiled tugged at her lips when she saw he knew all along she had been distracted by him when she ordered her dinner.

Looking over at his plate, she noticed he had pushed his carrots over to the side also.

"I'll trade you my shrimp… for your carrots." She replied lightly.

Reaching over with his chopsticks he removed the shrimp from her plate.

With a grin, Hinata did the same with his carrots, as she did some of the nervousness she had felt around him began to disappear.

**

After dinner, they shared a large chocolate brownie ice cream sundae covered with whipped cream.

"You may have the rest, I can't eat anymore." She told him considerately as she pushed the large bowl towards him and delicately wiped her mouth with her napkin.

"Thank you." He told her before he proceeded to polish off the rest of the desert and shortly after that the waiter brought them their check.

As they waited for the waiter to bring back his change, Itachi reached over and lightly caressed her hand. Almost casually, he began lightly tracing the palm of her hand and her pulse began to race like crazy.

"What do you want to do now?" He asked her impassively as he stared over at her with half lowered eyes.

Feeling slightly breathless just by the way he was touching her, Hinata lowered her eyes to the table as the waiter brought him back his change. She knew what she wanted to do but didn't have the nerve to speak it out loud, especially not on their first (real) date.

Almost longingly, she stared at his mouth for a short moment as he stood up and put some money on the table for a tip. Standing up next to him, she began following him out and almost unconsciously moved closer to him as she saw all of the people staring at them.

When they stepped outside the building she was surprised when a bright camera flash went off.

The photographer grinned and raised his camera in triumphal glee when he got a coveted photo of the two clan heirs together. Then as he looked at his camera his face fell, it already had a kunai knife sticking through it.

"Hey…you broke my camera." He complained irately to Itachi, he had been planning to use that photo to splash over the front cover of tomorrow's edition of the Konoha Times.

Itachi's glance was cold and intimidating. "You did not have our permission to take our picture."

Hinata watched gratified as the cameraman slunk nervously off and noticed a large crowd was beginning to form around them. A sick feeling began to form in her stomach as she realized that everything they did around town was going to be news. She was sure by now her father knew all about them…

Looking around, Hinata noticed it was dark outside at least that would help some as they walked around.

"Come on." He told her as he began to walk quickly and pulling her along. Hinata had sandals on with slight heels on them and couldn't walk as fast as he could. Itachi quickly noticed that and began to moderate his pace.

He had been planning to take her to the top of the Hokage Mountain and look at the view from there at night but now he didn't think that was the best thing to do considering the way she was dressed. Changing his plans, he began to steer them towards the park instead.

On their way to the park the sky opened up and began to pour down rain on them.

"What now?" Hinata asked him with a frustrated laugh at how nothing ever seemed to work out for them.

Itachi turned to her under the streetlight and his hair was beginning to stick to his forehead. Hinata reached up almost unconsciously and pushed his bangs aside as he looked less intimidating, almost boyish to her.

"Let's go to my house." He told her as he looked down at her, his dark eyes searched hers.

Swallowing, as her throat suddenly became dry and a nervous excitement began to run through her at the thought of being alone with him at his house. Looking up at him, she knew she should probably have him take her home but something within her reminded her this time with him was stolen as she hadn't received her punishment from her father yet. The temptation to spend time with him alone was just too great.

"Alright," she replied breathlessly with a smile. "I will…go with you." Reaching down she took off her sandals so she could run better and took his outstretched hand.

oooOOOooo

As Itachi opened his front door, Hinata stood behind him and smiled to herself as she thought they both looked like a couple of drowned rats. Her hair, which the Hokage and Mikoto had spent so much time putting up and making it look beautiful, was now straggling and dripping wet and some of it was sticking to her face.

Her body began to shiver with cold as she followed him into the house.

Standing there dripping all over his floor, she watched as he walked over and turned on the light. A feeling of déjà vu hit her as she remembered standing in his kitchen covered in baby puke.

"Let's find you something dry to wear." Itachi told her as he reached out for her hand and began pulling her down the hallway. As she followed behind him, nerves began to flutter in her stomach as it began to sink in that they were all alone in his house and they were heading toward his bedroom.

Her mind immediately became calm, knowing instinctively that she had nothing to fear from him. In the whole time she has known him, he has been nothing but respectful and a gentleman around her.

As she followed him into his room, Hinata stifled a giggle as she thought he was probably getting worked up about all of the water they were dripping on his rare bamboo floors. Glancing behind her, she saw he had already formed a shadow clone that was coming out of the kitchen and dry mopping the floors behind them in the hallway.

After entering his room Itachi immediately walked over to his closet and found her some clothes to wear. Searching through his drawers, he found a pair of pants that were tied at the waist with a drawstring so they would fit her.

"T-thank y-you." She told him through chattering teeth and shared an amused glance with him as they both recognized they had done this before.

Beginning to feel almost numb with cold, Hinata walked stiffly into his bathroom and was horrified by the way she looked when she saw herself in the mirror. Her hair was a disaster, but her dress was the worst part of all. The wet black material clung to her like a second skin so tightly; she might as well be naked.

_Oh Kami!_

Her cheeks were flaming red as she stripped off the soaking wet dress and her black strapless bra. Blushing even more as she threw them in his hamper she hoped Mikoto was the one who did his laundry.

Still shivering with cold, she hurried and put the dark blue clothes on and was grateful the shirt he gave her had long sleeves. The pants were too long, so she rolled them up and tied the string on them as tightly as she could to keep them from falling down on her.

After scrubbing her face and combing her wet hair out to let it dry she felt like she could face him again.

Walking down the dark hallway she could tell by the light on in the kitchen he was in there. When she walked through the doorway she stood there captivated by him as saw his hair was still wet but he had already tied it back and looked as perfectly groomed as always. A hint of a smile formed on her lips…in her mind there was no one else like him.

Watching him turn on the stove to warm up the tea kettle she was very conscious of the level of trust he had in her. He was so private and allowed so few people into his life; it made her feel very special that he was letting her be one of them.

Itachi turned toward her and for a moment they could only stand there and stare at one another, in the next moment, she was in his arms.

Her face was against his chest and she breathed in the smell of him. He smelled like soap and the fresh scent of rain. His arms were around her so warm and comforting. He made her feel so… safe and strangely enough, considering how little she knew him,…precious.

He held her for a while and Hinata breathed out a soft sigh as she felt she could stay right where she was… forever. Lifting up her head she looked up at him and watched as he studied her in silence, his expression unreadable.

As she gazed up at him slightly befuddled by the way he was staring at her, Hinata felt warmth begin to drift up her cheeks as she began to get the feeling he was memorizing her features.

Before Hinata could even process that thought, his mouth was on hers and one of his arms slid around her waist drawing her closer to him. Underneath his, her lips parted softly as a shaky breath escaped her.

His mouth, as it moved over hers was tantalizingly slow and tender; causing Hinata to wrap her arms around his neck as her body suddenly began to feel strangely warm and lethargic.

As she clung to him, the pressure of his mouth increased and his hand curved around the nape of her neck stroking it softly, while his other drifted up and down her spine in an endless mind-drugging caress. Uttering a soft sound in her throat Hinata leaned forward slightly and her mouth pressed innocently against his.

Wild heat began to flare up between them as his mouth suddenly became insistent and hungry. Feeling a thrill of nervous excitement like she had never felt before Hinata kissed him back almost feverishly as she formed herself around him.

The sound of the tea kettle whistling in the air brought them back to sanity.

Breathing hard, Itachi reached behind him and turned off the stove and pulled Hinata into him so her face rested against his chest.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have allowed that to happen." He told her with a trace of remorse in his voice, taking all the blame for what just happened between them.

Still a little shell-shocked at the sheer intensity of her response to his kisses Hinata closed her eyes as she hid her face against his chest. Breathing out shakily and almost close to tears she opened up to him.

"I'm glad it happened," she admitted candidly. "I am… probably not going to be allowed to see you anymore."

Itachi stepped away from her and forced her to look at him.

"Why not?" He asked her as his eyes searched hers.

Biting her lip, she anxiously looked down at the ground. "My father… told me I am not allowed to see you…He threatened to force me to marry a distant cousin, if he even hears my name linked to yours."

Anger flared through his eyes at her father's threat to her, and he thought of his own father and his estrangement with him about the same issue. A nerve tightened in his jaw as he felt like he had reached his limit with their interference in his life.

"What do you want, Hinata?" He asked her seriously, his eyes were intent on hers.

Hinata stood there still as statue, almost in shock as he was the first person who ever asked her what she wanted. As if her wishes actually mattered. He was giving her control of what would happen between them in the future.

Deeply touched that he seemed to understand her needs so well she closed her eyes and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.

"I want to…see you."

"Then what your father wants doesn't matter." He told her flatly as he folded her back into his arms.

As Hinata held onto him, she reveled in the sense of peace his words brought her. She not only felt protected and understood, she felt empowered as well.

And going way past neurotic fan-girlishness, she slipped all the way into love with him.

oooOOOooo

Sitting cuddled up with him in the papasan chair, Hinata reached over to the end table next to her and grabbed a couple of almond cookies and automatically handed him one. Without even looking up from the book he was reading, Itachi took the cookie from her.

"Thank you." He told her quietly.

"You're welcome." She replied softly as she snuggled a little closer to him and lifted up her book again.

Looking at her book, her mouth curved into a grin as she complied with his idea of a "safe activity" for them to do for the rest of their date. Because drinking tea together somehow ended up with them locked in a tight and very improper embrace (happy sigh), the same thing happened with talking… they inevitably ended up kissing… (happier sigh)

Hinata glanced over at the code breaking books on the shelf and remembered what she wanted to ask him the other day.

"Itachi?"

"Hm?" He replied as he turned from his book and looked at her.

"I noticed all of the books you have on code-breaking." She said with mild curiosity as she pointed to the books on his shelf. "Is it one of your hobbies too?"

At her question his lips quirked slightly before he turned back to reading his book.

"No, I bought them for you."

Stunned, she opened her eyes wide. "When?"

Itachi shrugged, "A while ago."

"Oh." She murmured weakly, as she realized he has probably liked her for a while.

_Oh kami! _

Smiling helplessly and thinking she was going to wake up any moment now from this wonderful dream she was in, Hinata lifted up her book again and tried unsuccessfully to read.

"Thank you Itachi." She told him quietly and made the mistake of looking at him and making eye contact with him.

Soon it became apparent that even reading wasn't a safe activity for them to do as she somehow ended up in his lap.

oooOOOooo

Lips swollen and smiling irrepressibly, Hinata thought about the ridiculously long time it took for them to say goodnight to each other. Alarm overtook her when she looked at her watch she saw it was two o'clock in the morning.

Tiptoeing gingerly past her father's office she tensed up as she waited for the hammer to drop. Relief began to flood over her as she saw he had gone to bed and she was safe from his wrath for now.

Her face became a little mulish as she realized Itachi was right, she was an adult now and her father should not be able to control her life any longer. She made up her mind to stand up against him.

**

Staring out his bedroom window, Hiashi's face was stony as he had seen with his Byakugan the extremely inappropriate way his daughter had said goodbye to the Uchiha. A determined light entered his eyes as he went to get ready for bed.

**

**Author's Note:** I apologize profusely by not posting sooner. I am a person that believes integrity is important and when I tell you I am going to do something, I try my hardest to follow through on it. Anyway, things just didn't work out as I had planned. I will try to get another chapter out by Thursday. Thanks for all of the lovely feedback; I hope this chapter answers what is going on with the journal. (haha)


	12. Chapter 12

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 12~**

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**[Timeskip: **2 days later…Konoha Men's Association and Lawn Club, President's office…]

Fugaku sat in the plush chair in front of the president and waited for his rival to come.

"Ah Lord Hyuuga, welcome," The president said graciously. "Please be seated."

Fugaku sneered slightly as Hiashi sat in the chair next to his. Turning towards him with hostility radiating off his eyes he greeted him. "Hiashi-bastard."

Ignoring the slight, Hiashi turned his head regally and greeted him with mock cordiality. "Fugaku."

The president looked at two of Konoha's leading citizens and could feel the latent hostility radiating off of the two men, especially Lord Uchiha. Deciding to step in before they ended up destroying his office, like they did the last time they were here together, he held up his hands nervously to get their attention.

"Gentlemen, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with us today. I promise I will make it brief." He told them with a nervous smile.

"The board and I have been excited to tell you that this year's winner will also have their picture on the cover of Konoha's Better Homes and Gardens magazine, along with their yards." He explained them as he gestured to the editor of the magazine sitting in a chair in his office.

"I don't care about that; I just want to win the plaque." Fugaku complained dourly.

"Of course you don't." Hiashi said haughtily. "Because your lawn has always been second rate to mine."

Sneering Fugaku turned and mumbled under his breath. "My lawn was always better than yours; your lawn was just bigger."

"Both of your lawns are tremendous," the president gushed as sweat began to drip off of him. "In fact you both started a death trend that has people all over Konoha burning their lawns, and creating lawn art."

Over in a corner of his office, the president's posse all bobbed their heads in agreement.

"It's true Lord Hiashi, because of your lawn; people all over Konoha are doing lawn art and sticking it to the man! Ah, you are a true rebel." A young man said to him in awestruck tones.

Next to Hiashi, Fugaku snorted in disbelief, "That is ludicrous, he didn't do that lawn art on his lawn, it had to have been his slaves…I mean family members, rebelling against him."

Rigid with anger, Hiashi glared at him, his mouth turned hard with a scornful smile. "You should talk, Fugaku; I heard your yard was also rearranged by your family." He said coldly with a knowing glint in his eyes as he looked at his former friend. "Having a little trouble with the misses, are we?"

Enraged, Fugaku blurted out angrily. "At least I have a wife, Hiashi."

Pain lanced through Hiashi's eyes and he looked down at the ground. "That is true." He said with quiet dignity.

Fugaku was immediately contrite. "That was uncalled for, I apologize." He stated quietly. "However, I still think you are a bastard."

A cold smile graced Hiashi's lips acknowledging what his former friend said was true, he may be many things, but Hyuuga's never lie.

"I would like to present you the rules for the tiebreaker. Currently the Aburame clan is in third place and will be declared the winner if both of you decide to forfeit."

A shudder of distaste ran through both men at the thought of losing to someone from that inferior clan.

"What are the rules?" Fugaku asked impatiently as he stared the president down with a hard stare.

Swallowing nervously, the president kept his composure with difficulty. "The board and I decided to let both of you choose randomly and make over the two members of the club with the worst lawns." He told them as he lifted up a hat and placed it in front of them. "Whichever name you choose, you will have five days to make-over their lawn."

Fugaku gestured for Hiashi to choose first. Hiashi reached in and handed the name to the president to read off out loud.

"The Nara clan." He read off with a smile.

A small shudder ran through Hiashi as he thought of that weed infested, half-dead lawn. However, when he considered the other worst lawn in Konoha he realized he chose the easier of the two.

Fugaku reached in and already knew who the name was going to be on the paper. Mentally cursing, he grimaced as if in pain as he read off the name.

"The Inuzuka clan."

_Shit!_

"Wonderful." The president said in a relieved voice that the meeting was almost over. "We will announce the winner at the Valentine's Day ball next Friday night. I wish you both happy gardening."

oooOOOooo

"Class dismissed." Shizune said abruptly as she put her chalk down on the tray beneath the board.

Relief flooded Hinata as she put her pen away. Looking at the notebook in front of her she saw just how bad her inattention was, as she saw all of the purple little hearts doodled all over it. Snapping the cover of it closed, she shut her eyes tightly in frustration, vowing to do a lot better tomorrow.

Even though that was what she had told herself yesterday, this time she really meant it.

_Oh, who am I kidding_? Hinata told herself skeptically, knowing that there was nothing on earth that could take her attention from the rush of emotions that she experienced when she was with him or even away from him.

Obsessive fan-girls had nothing on her, what she felt for him went way past those tepid emotions; she was desperately in love with him almost to the point where she felt almost physically ill when they weren't together.

"Bye Hinata." Shizune said with a teasing light in her tone and a smirk on her face.

"Uh, bye Shizune." Hinata said as an uneasy feeling began to grow in her stomach. All day long she kept getting these odd stares from people like they knew something she didn't. It was making her nervous, especially since their date a few days ago; her and Itachi have not appeared together in public and have been keeping their relationship completely out of the public eye.

As she walked down the hall in the hospital, she wondered when he was going to come back from the mission he went on late last night. Her lips curved in a helpless smile as she thought about seeing him again…

Suddenly a hand went over her mouth and she was dragged into an empty room and arms like steel bands clamped her into his chest as his foot slammed the door closed behind them.

"Itachi…" she squeaked out before his lips took possession of hers in a kiss so full of fierce longing and passion, it left her weak and trembling as she clung to him.

_Oh kami!_

"I missed you." She breathed out shakily against his neck when he let her up for air. Lifting up her face she offered her mouth up to him to be kissed again.

Smiling slightly, he brushed his lips lightly over hers. "How did your training go this morning?"

"Mmm, it was awful," she blushed and admitted ruefully with a soft sigh against his chest. "I think I need some… remedial training."

With his head leaning against her hers, Itachi commiserated with her as his performance of his ninja duties have not been up to his usual excellent standards either.

"I will help you," he promised her while threading his fingers through her silky long hair. "If you make dinner for us?"

Her eyes lit up at the thought of cooking dinner for him, just the two of them at his house. It sounded wonderful—no prying eyes, no cameras and she could have him all to herself. After dinner he could teach her some medical techniques. The corners of her mouth turned up as she wondered if medical training was a "safe activity" for them to do alone.

_Only one way to find out_, she thought to herself as she hugged him tighter to her.

"I'll come over later." Hinata replied with a delighted smile on her face as she looked up at him. "I will stop by the store first."

"Good," he replied as his eyes lingered on her face. "I have a meeting to attend this afternoon; I should be home by five."

Behind her, his eyes glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was time for him to leave if he was going to be on time to his meeting.

"I will see you later." He told her before kissing softly her one last time.

"Alright." She said as she watched him go and marveled at how comfortable she was beginning to feel around him. How could she not, when, with every touch and look at her, he told her how necessary she was to him.

Fanning her warm cheeks, Hinata took a few minutes to compose herself before leaving the room. As she walked down the hallway she mentally groaned to herself when she heard Sakura and Ino talking and laughing in the break room.

Eyes straight ahead, she tried to walk by and hoped they didn't notice her.

Hinata was stopped in her tracks when Ino screamed her name excitedly and pulled her into the room.

"Um, hello guys." She replied weakly, while trying to look calm as she stood in front of them. Just by looking at the other two kunoichi she could tell they were about to interrogate her.

"Hinata." Ino said with a huge grin as she was hiding something behind her back.

As Sakura came closer to her and also had the same grin on her face, alarm bells began to sound off madly in Hinata's head.

_This is not good_. She thought as she swallowed nervously.

Ino and Sakura grinned at each other before Sakura asked her with wide eyes.

"Are you really dating Uchiha Itachi?"

Before she could even begin to answer, "Yeah, how is he?" Ino asked her in a naughty manner as she nudged her playfully with her elbow.

Hinata first turned pale at these questions before her face turned bright pink at Ino's question. She had a much stricter upbringing than the other two girls and having sex before marriage was out of the question for someone of her background. It would bring dishonor to both clans and with the hostility already there, something like that could spark a clan war.

"W-ell…" Hinata replied nervously trying to buy herself time to compose herself. "We um,…just started going out…and haven't done anything like that."

At her response, Sakura and Ino looked at her with mirror skeptical looks.

"I find that hard to believe after seeing this." Ino told her in mock disbelief as she pulled out the magazine from behind her back.

As soon as she saw the cover, all of the blood drained from Hinata's face. Horrified, she took the Konoha Enquirer from Ino's hand and looked in shock as a grainy long-ranged photo showed her and Itachi saying good night on the night of their first date locked in an extremely passionate embrace.

What made it even worse was the fact that the Uchiha emblem was very clear to see on the back of the shirt she was wearing.

And Hinata was formed so tightly against him, he was practically wearing her!

Just when Hinata felt the situation couldn't get any worse she read the caption under the picture.

_Really good friends? (Pa-lease!) Lovers? (Maybe) Ready to burst into flames through spontaneous combustion? (Definitely!) Are they HOT or what? Konoha's newest and hottest couple claims to be only friends—WTF!_

_Oh Kami, _thought weakly, feeling completely and horribly violated that something that was so new and sweet between her and Itachi was splattered on some tabloid magazine like some cheap one night stand.

What was her father going to do to her after he saw that? He was already angry at her and hadn't spoken to her in days. He kept looking at her in an odd way and she had no idea what he was thinking as he looked at her.

Over the past few days, he had her completely on edge, as even her sister, who knew pretty much everything that went on around the compound, couldn't figure out what he was planning against her.

Almost numbly, Hinata sat down and put her hands in her face.

As Ino and Sakura saw how upset she was, they began to feel bad for teasing her. Hinata was just so proper all of the time and they just couldn't picture her acting that way with a guy in a million years. They had been unable to resist the urge to tease her when they had seen her walking by.

Looking at their friend's face they saw the truth was written all over it.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Ino asked almost gently as she laid her hand on Hinata's shoulder.

Hinata's face crumbled slightly before she nodded sadly.

"Aww." Sakura said as she sat down next to her. Not to be outdone by her pink-hair friend Ino sat on the other side.

"Oh Hinata, it will be alright, I have been on the cover of that piece of crap magazine several times." Sakura told her in a kind voice trying to cheer her up. "People eventually forget about it."

"I know what you mean, Sakura, I have been on the cover of even more than you have and no one thinks worse of me." Ino said nodding her head emphatically doing her part in trying make Hinata feel better.

Next to Hinata, Sakura grew rigid. "You haven't been on the cover more than me." She stated tightly disagreeing with the blonde as she pointed to the magazine.

"Uh yeah, I have, Forehead." Ino said rolling her eyes. "I've been on a bunch more covers than you. The Konoha Mirror, the…" She said as she began naming them off…

"So, Ino-pig, I have had several articles written about me by the Konoha Times also, they are _real_ articles, not just gossip about who I slept with." Sakura blurted out while standing up and pointing to the Newspaper on the table.

Ino's lips grew tight as she stood up on the other side of Hinata and began glaring at her pink-haired friend. "What are you trying to say Billboard Brow?..."

"It's obvious,…as the Hokage's apprentice, I am more well known than you are and a better ninja." Sakura replied smugly, with a superior looking smile on her face.

Ino's eyes were incredulous and were beginning to glint dangerously as she flicked her hair back. "Ugh, you are not!" Ino retorted loudly. "My fan club is way bigger than yours is…"

Hinata glanced warily at the two friends and knew they were just getting started arguing and she didn't have the emotional energy to deal with them at the moment. As she was sliding out from under them she happened to glance at the headlines and saw there wasn't a picture of her and Itachi, but the headlines on the cover read in bold letters.

HYUUGA AND UCHIHA, AN ALLIANCE IN THE MAKING? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE STABILITY OF THE VILLAGE?

As she read the first line of the article her heart sunk even lower in her chest.

_Unidentified sources report the other clans are worried the two largest clans are planning a takeover of the village…_

_Oh no!_ Hinata thought anxiously. _We are not trying to take over anything, we just like each other._

Hinata looked over and saw her friends were still arguing, she picked up the paper and the magazine and hurried out of the room and ran down the hall.

Once outside the building she shoved the periodicals in her book bag and jumped up on a large tree branch. Leaning up against the tree trunk and hidden from sight she put her face in her hands and thought about Itachi.

A ragged sigh escaped her when she remembered that he was one of the few people on a very short list of eligible ninja to become Hokage one day. Up until now his record had been spotless without even a hint of scandal attached to his name.

Until he met her.

Now his good name was being dragged through the mud and it was all because of her. Tears began to form in her eyes as she realized what she needed to do—she needed to break it off with him.

oooOOOooo

Standing in line at the store, Hinata looked at the cover of the Konoha Telegraph and saw a photo split in two with her father's made over lawn and Hanabi's graphic lawn art boldly telling her father where he could stick it. On the other side she saw Lord Uchiha's burned out crater of death that used to be his lawn on the other side. The bold caption above both of them read:

_LAWN MAKE-OVERS? OR FAMILY FUEDS!_

"Ha, will you look at this Nia," the old lady in front of Hinata said loudly to her sister. "The article says Lord Uchiha is locked into an ugly squabble with his family just because his eldest son is dating the Hyuuga Heiress."

"Oh, that's sad" her sister replied in pitying tones. "Those two youngsters should be allowed to be together, it's obvious from the photos of them kissing they are deeply in love."

"Oh please Nia, deeply in lust you mean." Her sister scoffed with a hard laugh.

"Oh Yoko, you are such a cynic." Nia said as she shook her head sadly.

Behind the two old ladies and underneath her hat and sunglasses, Hinata stood there in shock. Itachi never told her that his father didn't want him seeing her.

_Why would he keep something like that from me?_ Her mind raced, making the idea of breaking up with him begin to take even deeper root as she now saw that not only is she harming his career, but causing division in amongst his family.

_Oh Kami, help me_. She prayed as she fortified herself for what she needed to do.

oooOOOooo

Walking past Mikoto's house Hinata stopped for a moment and just stared at the devastated lawn. It looked like an earthquake and lightning fire struck it all at the same time. It would be almost beautiful to her in a haunting sort of way if she didn't know the reason behind the devastation.

It was done because of her.

"Hyuuga-san." Fugaku's hard voice called out to her as he walked around his house.

Hinata turned and instinctively looked down to see if she was standing on some of his grass.

She wasn't.

"Uchiha-sama." Hinata replied respectfully with a proper bow as she held on to the sack of groceries.

"I don't want you seeing my son." He told her bluntly.

Hinata lowered her eyes and looked down at the ground. "I know." She whispered as her heart began to break, knowing she definitely had to give him up.

"It's not you that is causing the problems. It is your asshole father." Fugaku told her almost kindly. "I cannot allow my clan to be allied to such a man."

"I understand." Hinata said numbly as the pain lanced through her as she turned to leave.

"Fugaku!" Mikoto yelled in outrage as she ran out and stood between them. "Stay away from her! She has done nothing wrong except make our son very happy."

"I don't want her here." Fugaku fumed stubbornly. "She is destroying his career; you saw the photos of the two of them smeared all over the papers!"

"Ugh." Mikoto ground out as she stomped her foot in frustration. "Who cares about that?! I already paid those jerks a visit at the Enquirer." She said with a feral smile as she thought of how satisfying it was to blow up their printing press. "They aren't going to mess with this family again!"

Mikoto looked over at Hinata and saw only the bag of groceries she had been carrying on the ground. She had left.

"You are no longer my father." Itachi told his father in a cold unemotional voice as he appeared behind them. His eyes looked bleak as he stared off towards the gate of the clan compound.

Mikoto looked at her son and could tell he was very angry because the more upset both of her son's get, the colder and less emotional they become.

"She is no good for you son." Fugaku tried.

"You should try to adopt Shisui, father." Sasuke said in a hard voice as he went to stand by his brother. "I don't claim you either."

"Itachi, I need to stay with you for a while." Mikoto told him as her eyes raked over her husband contemptuously.

Fugaku folded his arms obstinately and glared back at all three of them.

"Fine, I don't need any of you." He told them harshly before he spun around and strode off to work in his garage.

Sasuke picked up the bag of groceries and saw there was a carton of chocolate ice on top beginning to melt.

"Here." He said quietly as he handed it to his crying mother. Mikoto grabbed it and held it to her chest as she looked for around for Itachi.

He had already left to find Hinata.

**Author's Note:** I sincerely hate having to write chapters like this one, but I blame it squarely on the plot. Unfortunately for me, this story has one and I have to stick with it. Anyway, there is more to come… (Lawn wars, media wars, stubborn lovers, and even more stubborn family members lol.) I appreciate so much all of the support and wonderful feedback, reviews, IM's etc., I have received for this story. Even though my life has been really busy lately, it has forced me to keep writing and posting chapters quickly.

Please leave me some feedback and I will post another chapter within a day or two.


	13. Chapter 13

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 13~**

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_* A big thanks to all of you who took the time to review, this quick update is for all of you:)_

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"Hinata," her father's cold voice lashed out, effectively dropping the hammer on her hopes that she would be able to get past his office without having to see him.

Stopping in her tracks, she turned around with about as much enthusiasm as Nara Shikamaru has when his mother gives him chores to do.

"Hai Father, you wanted to see me?" Hinata replied quietly as her bow was very respectful.

"Have a seat, Hinata." He told her impatiently as he watched her comply with his wishes.

His eyes were full of ice as he pushed the magazines and newspapers in front of her.

"Explain yourself." He demanded abruptly with glacier-like coldness.

Hinata took a shaky breath as she quelled her fear and tried to calm her racing heart. She knew she had no excuses and would do it all over again if given the chance.

"I love him, father."

Hiashi's demeanor softened a tiny bit at her words and he examined her closely and found she was telling the truth. He looked uncomfortable as he turned away from her.

"Contrary to what you may believe of me, I am not unfamiliar with that emotion…I loved your mother to distraction and have not been same since her death."

Tears began to pour down her face at the evidence that she had been right about her father all along.

He never got over the death of her mother.

Hiashi looked at his eldest daughter who was the spitting image of his dead wife and for once saw her as her own person, not just a painful reminder of his loss.

"I have known all along you have been seeing him and gave you that time with him. I have long admired the Uchiha, who is a far better man than his father ever was." Hiashi revealed to his daughter in a rough voice.

In shock, Hinata stared at her father with wide open eyes.

"Y-you gave us this time together? I don't understand, father?"

"Yes." Hiashi responded in a voice parents use when they feel they know what's best for their children. "It is time you learn just how difficult being an adult is. I am going to make you choose?"

Hinata's heart dropped into her stomach, she had a feeling the choice she was going to have to make was going to be a painful one.

"Between what, father?" She asked him weakly, but somehow already knew he was going to go after the one area where she was the most vulnerable.

"I am going to make you choose between your happiness or your sister's future?" He told her in a hard voice, this time he dropped an axe on her.

She looked at him and they both knew he wasn't really giving her a choice at all.

oooOOOooo

Hanabi hurried and ran to the gate.

"Let him come in." She ordered the branch member imperiously as she saw him begin to deny the Uchiha entrance to the compound.

"Thank you Hyuuga-san," Itachi told her unemotionally, grateful she saved him from having to use his Sharingan on the guard. He would have done it if necessary, but he would much rather enter the compound peacefully if given the chance.

"Please, call me Hanabi." She offered in a forthright and polite voice as she looked at him with a knowing glint in her eyes. "After all, I have feeling you and I are going to be family one day."

Itachi looked over at the young teenager and saw she was no child, like he was when he was younger; she also had the eyes of an adult. She was almost the exact opposite of Hinata and strangely he liked her immediately.

"You may call me Itachi." He told her in a coolly formal voice as they walked toward the main house. "Where is she, Hanabi?"

Hanabi almost sighed when she heard the concern in his voice; apparently he must care for her sister a great deal.

"She is in my father's office; he is probably handing out her punishment for her extremely inappropriate behavior with you."

"Take me to her, please." Itachi asked her with hard eyes as he stared intently toward the house.

Hanabi shivered as she felt the killing intent radiate off of him. He was clearly no one to trifle with, she realized her father better be careful in the way he dealt with him.

_Yes!_

Almost beside herself with excitement, at getting the chance to scare the hell out of her father, Hanabi couldn't wait to see the look on her father's face when she escorted the Uchiha into his office.

"I would be glad to, Itachi." She told him politely as she hid a fierce grin. "Follow me."

oooOOOooo

"You may marry the Uchiha, but if you do, it will be at the expense of your sister. She will have to marry your distant-cousin, Hajime." Hiashi pronounced with hard solemnity as his eyes watched her closely.

He sighed, when he saw she was still weak, still sentimental and overly protective of her sister. In his eyes she was pathetic and still more of a child than she was an adult.

"Why?" Hinata asked numbly as she searched for a way out for her and Hanabi.

A slight glint of respect formed in his eyes for her small question, he noted that was improvement for her, she used to never question him about anything.

"Years ago, Hajime's father, Elder Saito-Hyuuga, was instrumental in helping me solidify my power over the clan and the elders. I promised to align myself with him and his family through marriage, via one of my offspring to his son, Hajime. Since, I only have two daughters; one of you must marry him." He explained to her with cold finality and deliberately left out a few small details, but it wasn't anything she needed to know about.

Lifting her eyes to the ceiling, she felt anguish, rage and pain crash over her in waves. She looked over and saw her father was watching her with a strangely speculative look on his face. He wanted something from her but she didn't know what.

_What do you want from me father? Haven't I given you everything I have to give? What more do you want? _She raged helplessly as she saw no way out.

On shaky legs Hinata went over to the window and stared at the bulldozed and blackened mess that used to be her father's lawn. She wished with all her heart she could be like her sister and rebel and go on a destructive rampage unlike anyone had ever seen in this family, but she knew she couldn't.

She had promised her mother on her deathbed, she would watch over all of them, especially Hanabi.

Futile anger and pain tore through her, knowing that she had no choice; she had to marry her cousin and say goodbye to Itachi…forever.

"I will do it Father." She told him coolly as a mind-numbing fog enveloped her making the last few days of pure joy she had experienced with Itachi seem as if they had happened to someone else. As she thought about Itachi a brief moment of clarity jolted her. He wouldn't want her to enter into an agreement blindly without learning all of the pertinent details.

"However, I-I want to see the agreement you have between the elder, in writing and read the conditions of your p-promise."

Behind his desk, Hiashi's eyebrows raised in surprise as he thought maybe there might be hope for her after all.

"I will have it sent to your room later; you may peruse it at your leisure." He replied to her in a dismissive tone of voice. "You may retire now."

Hinata turned to go and saw Hanabi come through the door with a look on her face that made her extremely nervous. With growing trepidation, Hinata recognized that mutinous glint in her sister's eyes; and knew she was clearly up to no good.

"Father." Hanabi said insolently without even bother to bow. "Uchiha Itachi would like to have a word with you."

"I have nothing to say to him..." Hiashi said icily before his eyes became almost fearful when he saw him standing in the doorway. His eyes shifted to Hanabi and saw by the unrepentant look on her face, she had let him onto the premises. His eyes narrowed at her briefly, telling her he would deal with her later.

"Hyuuga-sama, I would like a moment of your time." Itachi said in a frigidly polite voice that was clearly not a request.

"Itachi?" Hinata gasped out as her pulse began to race wildly as she saw he had followed her here.

Itachi ran over to her when he saw she was on the verge of collapsing.

"What did he do to you Hinata?" He asked her tightly as he gathered her into his arms.

Hinata, moved beyond tears at the concern she saw in his eyes could only stare at his beloved face.

"I'm s-sorry Itachi…" she choked out emotionally as she buried her face in the safety of his chest. "I'm s-so sorry…Itachi,… p-please forgive me…"

"What did you do to her?" Itachi bit off with chilling and quiet fury as he turned his Sharingan on the older man.

Swallowing uneasily, Hiashi paled as he stared pending death in the face. Desperately quelling his fear, he looked to Hinata to help him.

"I-Itachi, he gave me a…choice." Hinata said as calmly as she could as her eyes pleaded with him to understand her.

Itachi softened a little as he searched her eyes; he sighed when he saw how upset she was and allowed his eyes to turn back to normal.

"What kind of a choice?" He asked Hiashi in a dangerously calm voice.

Hanabi snorted in disbelief. "A choice, yeah right..."

"Hanabi, please…" Hinata implored desperately, as her eyes told her she was not helping the situation any.

"Fine." Hanabi muttered glumly before shutting her mouth.

"I gave her the choice of marrying you or marrying her distant cousin." Hiashi told him flatly as his eyes nervously flickered toward the door as if he wanted to escape.

"You bastard!" Hanabi fumed as her white eyes glared at her father. "You didn't give her a choice; you used emotional blackmail on her, didn't you?"

"I did no such thing." Hiashi responded with affronted dignity.

Itachi's lips grew narrow as he watched the drama unfold and knew this family could give his a run for their money when it came to being dysfunctional. He had reached the end of his patience when it came to dealing with dysfunctional families--his or anyone else's.

"Leave us." He snapped with calm authority and a subtle threat behind his softly spoken words.

Hanabi nodded silently as her eyes drifted over her sister's anxious face. She was beginning to like the Uchiha more and more by the second. Anybody who could frighten the hell out her father as he kicked him out of his own office was pretty incredible in her mind. Plus he also was clearly very protective of her sister.

She decided one way or another; he was going to become her brother in law.

"I will wait for you in your room, Hinata." She told her sister on the way out.

Hiashi nodded stiffly, highly affronted and relieved at the same time for being kicked out of his own office.

As they stepped into the hallway, Hanabi glared at her father with tight lips.

"I know what you are doing father…"

"Stay out of it, Hanabi." Hiashi lashed out harshly as he glared back at her.

"Invite cousin Hajime to visit and I will." She challenged, bristling with anger on behalf of her sister as she stared obstinately back at him.

Standing up tall and straight he turned away from her, he began walking with arrogant strides down the hallway.

"Excellent suggestion, my daughter, I will go do that now." He replied as a small and somewhat manipulative smile graced his face.

oooOOOooo

Itachi listened to their conversation in the hallway with grim interest before he turned toward Hinata. She was standing next to him with a resolute and slightly distraught look on her face that told him everything he needed to know.

Hinata had decided not to see him any longer.

"Come here." He told her as he hauled her gently to him.

Unable to resist the chance to be in his arms one last time, Hinata turned to him with an anguished sob in her throat.

As she savored the feel of him against her and his arms around her, a small voice in her head told her she was doing the right thing by letting him go. He would be much better off without her. She would just hold him back from achieving greatness if she stayed with him.

Deep within her she was almost grateful for the excuse of having to marry Hajime, she wasn't sure if she would have had the strength to break it off with him, now she knew she had to.

She just wished it didn't hurt so much.

Itachi pulled away from her and looked down intently at her face. He watched as her eyes drifted over his face as if she was committing it to memory.

"I'm not going to let you do it." He told her firmly. "It is not over between us."

Unable to bear the look of pain in his eyes, she wrenched her eyes away from his and stared mindlessly at the floor.

"It has to be…I c-can't go back on my word." She told him in an achingly hollow voice as her world began to fall apart around her.

Itachi lifted up her chin and forced her to look at him. His eyes flashed possessively as he lowered his head and kissed her hard, pulling her tightly against him. Hinata resisted at first and then began to cry as his mouth suddenly gentled against hers. His hands were soothing as he slid them over her back.

Her blood began to sing in her veins, feeling herself bending to his will, vulnerable and disarmed as only he could leave her. Sliding her hands around his neck, Hinata knew she would never feel this way about anyone else as she began to kiss him back and cling to him desperately.

Itachi lifted his head and looked down at her with relentlessly firm eyes.

"You are not marrying him."

Taking a ragged breath, Hinata backed away from him and felt ashamed of her lack of resolve. Suddenly, she just needed to be alone and have time to sort out her thoughts. Being around him was just too much right now.

"Please, just go." She whispered brokenly as she turned away from him and stared out the window. Itachi looked at her rigid back and knew he had to leave; nothing he said to her right now would make any difference. She was too emotional and upset.

He took a frustrated breath and realized for all of her sweetness she was also obstinate as hell. But then again so was he, probably even more so.

Without saying a word, he left.

As he strode across the path toward the gate he looked at the yard and could see lines in a distinct pattern under the dug up soil and almost choked out a laugh when he saw the crude gesture directed at the office window.

_Hanabi._

It would have been amusing if he wasn't so pissed at that Hyuuga bastard, Hinata was forced to call father. Turning around, his hand formed into a sign and he blew out a scorching fireball that made the lawn look a lot like his fathers'.

On his way out the gate, the branch family members bowed deeply in respect as he left.

oooOOOooo

Sitting at his brother's kitchen table, Sasuke took a bite of his food and thanked his mother as she poured him some tea.

He watched as his brother walked through the back door and could tell immediately by the look on Itachi's face something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" Sasuke asked him flatly.

Itachi walked to the window and stared out of it as he released a frustrated sigh.

"Hinata's father is forcing her to marry a distant cousin."

"Do you want me to eliminate him for you?" Sasuke asked him with blunt casualness.

"No," his brother replied impassively. "I will take care of it myself, if necessary."

Sasuke stood there and was a little stunned when he figured out what had just happened.

His brother had actually been dumped.

"Oh darling." Mikoto crooned as she came over and wrapped her arms around her firstborn. For once he didn't try to push her away as she sobbed all over him.

Mikoto was angry and just plain frustrated at how everything seemed to be falling apart lately. It was beginning to seem to her the more she tried to fix something the more likely it was to make the situation worse. She decided to let him deal with the problems between him and Hinata on his own.

She looked at Itachi and saw something she hadn't seen in his eyes since he was little and even then it was extremely rare.

He needed her help.

"Mother, will you go talk to her for me?" Itachi asked her quietly.

Mikoto nodded almost solemnly as she looked back at him and sniffled slightly as she held back her emotions.

_Well, maybe just one more time…_, she thought helpless to resist the urge to get involved. There was no way she could refuse when he actually wanted her help.

"Of course dear, I will go talk to her now." She said and was glad when she saw some of the tension begin to drain out of him.

She patted his back reassuringly before leaving out the door.

Sasuke watched his mother leave and decided he would also do his part to help his brother.

"Do you want to go train?" He offered, it was what he always did when something was bothering him.

He looked over at Itachi when he didn't respond right away and saw his brother appeared to be lost in thought.

Itachi released a deep breath as it appeared he had made up his mind about something.

"No." He answered his brother finally. "I think I will go talk to the Hokage."

"I will go with you." Sasuke stood up and began following him out of the house.

oooOOOooo

Hinata woke up when she felt a gentle hand on her forehead.

"Mikoto?" She said as she recognized her touch.

"I thought we agreed you were to call me mother." Itachi's mother reminded her softly.

A tear slipped out the corner of Hinata's eye as she thought of all the horrible things that had happened today.

"I didn't think you would um…want me to… now… that I am not seeing Itachi anymore."

"Shh, stop being foolish, Hinata," Mikoto admonished her softly as she gathered her in her arms in a tight hug.

"No matter what happens between the two of you, you can always call me that." She promised gently as she stroked Hinata's long hair.

"I bet he hates me now." Hinata breathed out emotionally as her eyes darkened with pain.

"Far from it, dear," Mikoto told her with a knowing smile. "Who do you think asked me to come see you?"

_Oh Itachi._

Hinata felt momentarily elated that he didn't hate her, before reality hit her and forced her to acknowledge maybe it would be better for both of them if he did.

"He is better off without me." Hinata admitted despondently as she pulled away from Mikoto with a long ragged sigh.

Mikoto looked at her and felt like she was finally getting somewhere, she had a feeling there was more going on than just her duty to marry a clansmen.

"Really?" She asked skeptically as her eyes watched Hinata carefully. "How so?"

Hinata looked away and blushed painfully as she remembered the horrible gossip she overheard over the past few days and the newspaper headlines and graphic photos of them kissing.

Mikoto began to chuckle in relief as figured out something.

"Darling, don't tell me you are worried about the gossip damaging his career?"

At Hinata's mortified nod, Mikoto looked at her a bit frustrated. "You obviously don't pay attention to magazines and newspapers all that much do you?"

Hinata was a little chagrinned as she looked at her. "Well, I am busy training…so, I guess not." She admitted softly.

"Well, both Sasuke and Itachi have been on the cover of that piece of crap paper so many times, it's nickname is, "The Uchiha Enquirer."

Hinata's mouth formed the shape of an "O" as an uneasy feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know, she had never noticed before.

Mikoto snorted as she began a familiar rant. "I have had it with that paper linking my boy's name to different girls and lying about them. I finally went to their office and blew up their printing press."

A reluctant giggle escaped Hinata as she pictured an outraged Mikoto going in there and trashing the place. Her eyes darkened though as she thought about the Konoha Times, they were a legitimate new source, unlike the Konoha Enquirer.

"What else?" Mikoto asked her calmly as she watched Hinata; she wanted it all out in the open.

"I uh, read that a possible alliance between our two clans…makes the other clans, a little nervous." Hinata admitted with a slightly worried frown on her face.

"Ah, that one is always a concern." Mikoto admitted honestly. "A subtle balance of power links all of our clans together, however, I think over time people would realize the truth." She told her with a huge grin on her face.

Hinata looked at her a little perplexed.

Mikoto shook her head and smiled knowingly at her. "Darling, when you get married, after seeing the two of you together and the _way_ you look at each other, no one will ever think our clans are plotting to take over the village."

Hinata blushed and felt relieved, but she looked at Mikoto and had to remind her of something.

"I'm not marrying Itachi; I have to marry my cousin, Hajime." Hinata told her sadly and just by saying it felt her stomach twist in knots.

Mikoto looked away from her and smiled knowingly. _I doubt Itachi will let that happen._

"Tell me about your cousin, Hinata?" Mikoto asked her softly as she patted her hand.

Hinata grimaced slightly as she tried to think of something nice to say about him.

"Well, he lives in a neighboring village and his father is one of the head elders of our clan. Father told me he helped him solidify his power years ago over his brother and that is why one of us has to marry his son." She told her as her voice became choked up near the end.

The light shined on for Mikoto, as her son never told her why Hinata was marrying her cousin.

She figured out a couple of things, number one: Hinata was marrying her cousin to protect her sister, and number two: This cousin of hers must be a real jerk, if even Hinata couldn't find anything nice to say about him.

Mikoto looked at her and placed her hand on her arm. "Hinata, why are you protecting your sister?" She asked her softly.

In her mind Mikoto wanted to shake Hinata for protecting someone like Hanabi, who would probably burn down her father's house if he ever tried to force her into a marriage against her will.

"I a-always have." Hinata admitted with an emotional shrug of her shoulders. "Plus, I promised mother, I would always watch over her…I couldn't choose my own happiness over hers."

Mikoto pulled her into her arms again as she saw she started crying again.

"Shh, everything will be fine, Hinata." She told her reassuringly. "Besides, I made a promise to your mother too before she died…I told her I would watch over both of you…and I mean to keep my promise."

"That's why we are going to find a way out of this betrothal." Mikoto told her positively with a determined light in her eyes.

Hinata suddenly felt a little nervous as she was beginning to realize that Mikoto and Hanabi were cut from the same determined and slightly scary cloth.

She nodded weakly, yet also felt hope begin to build in her.

_Maybe there would be a way out of this._

Looking near her bed she spotted the documents she requested from her father.

"Mikoto, if you wouldn't mind, I would like it if you read over these documents with me; they outline the agreement my father made with Elder Saito-Hyuuga regarding the terms of my betrothal." Hinata asked her as she began to feel a little stronger.

A slow grin formed over Mikoto's face as she turned on the light.

"With pleasure, my dear."

**

**Author's Note:** I changed things up slightly and added a very cliché plot (I know, I know-sorry) but I think it will be just too fun. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to let several people get in on the act of restoring order to this out of control fic. (Namely Mikoto, Sasuke, Neji, and probably someone else.) I promise a lot more Itahina, lawns, and dysfunctional and irrational family interaction before I tie things up in a neat and tidy little knot and end it. Thanks for all of the reviews, I had a lot of fun reading them!!!! Also, I meant to have Mikoto talk to Hinata about Fugaku, but it slipped my mind, I will try to have Itachi talk to her about, my oops, because that really is a big part of their breaking up. (sorry, tired brain I guess.)

(A quick shout out to Winterkaguya for keeping on track, I appreciate your feedback so much. Thanks!")

**Manga alert:** (spoiler) I don't know what to think, so, Naruto thinks they are going to fight at the end and probably both die. Um-kay, Kishimoto is not going to let that happen and don't forget about Itachi's gift to Naruto. I freakin can't wait to see what it is, it has to be awesome. If it sucks or is lame, I swear, I am going to put duck tape around my head to keep it from exploding. Um, have a great day or night (where ever you are lol).


	14. Chapter 14

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 14~**

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A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped pushed this story over 300 reviews! I have enjoyed reading all of them and have had some good laughs too. Even though my life has been a bit chaotic lately, you guys have kept me writing and updating.

Thanks especially to Mysterious Mind for helping me to practice German, OMK, I am rusty, but I have had a lot of fun trying to read it. Danke, UR awesome!

* * *

**

"Ah." Mikoto gasped in delight as she stepped out onto the front porch and into the morning sunlight and saw the birdhouse set on a new pole. The ground was freshly raked and all of the charred remains of what used to be her rose bushes and prized flowers had been removed.

In its place sat something that was infinitely precious to her. She had long thought it was missing and had not seen in many years.

Her eyes grew misty as she fondly ran her fingers over the smoothly sanded surface of the birdhouse, Itachi and Sasuke had secretly whittled out of wood with kunai knives many years ago when they were small. Fugaku had helped them put it together and the three of them had presented it to her as a surprise Mother's Day gift.

A tender smile formed on her face when she remembered five year old Sasuke standing in between Fugaku and Itachi and holding it out to her as if he had done all of the work himself. The smile on his face had been uninhibited and full of simple joy as he had been able to spend a lot of time with both his brother and father.

Moments like those had been few and far between as the clan had been plotting and on the verge of uprising against Konoha. It was one of the reasons she wanted grandchildren so badly, her boys grew up far too quickly and their childhoods vanished faster than a plate full of dango did in front of her oldest son.

As she looked over at the birdhouse and she recognized it for what it was.

It was a sign—granted a small one, but it showed her, her husband was beginning to weaken. Hope began to build in her chest, at the thought of having her family all back together once more.

Mikoto looked toward the garage and saw her husband was watching her intently as she looked over his peace offering. Lowering her head and looking away from him she sent him the message that his gesture while accepted by her, was not nearly enough to atone for what he had done to their family. Turning her back on him completely she went back inside of the house.

Fugaku sighed as he watched her leave and looked over at the team of men he assembled to help him work on the Inuzuka's yard.

"Let's move out." He told them firmly as his eyes drifted sadly back towards his house.

oooOOOooo

"I bought old man Jiro's place a few houses down from yours and your builder is going remodel it for me." Sasuke told his brother as they were walking back to Konoha escorting a client. "He told me he would begin work on it sometime…"

"Hey, damn it," the client interrupted rudely as he straggled behind them dragging one of his heavy bags behind him. "Would it be too much to ask for one of you to give me hand?" He asked in a voice heavily laden with sarcasm.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and smirked slightly as he shared a derisive look with Itachi.

"Hn." he replied abruptly as he didn't even bother to look behind him.

"But,… I am the client-- it is your job to assist me, damn you!" He spluttered out in an outraged voice when he saw they didn't immediately jump to his bidding and offer to help him.

In fact, they did the opposite and just kept walking and ignored him completely.

_How dare they do that to me? This is intolerable. _The client thought becoming increasingly infuriated as he watched the twin Uchiha symbols bounce smoothly up and down in front of him as the two brothers walked in tandem with supremely indifferent strides.

Angrily dropping the large back-pack he was carrying over his shoulder with a loud thud, he stopped walking and folded his arms tightly across his chest.

"Do you have any idea who you are messing with?" He spat out arrogantly with a haughty look on his face. "My father is a very important man in the Fire Country."

"What a loser." Sasuke muttered to his brother as he stopped walking.

Deliberately trying to provoke him, Itachi turned around and pinned his hard gaze down on the client with icy authority before his eyes raked over him dismissively.

"Our orders are to escort and protect you Saito-Hyuuga-san; we are not required to carry your personal items." He explained to him in a condescending tone as if talking to a petulant and not very bright child.

Standing there in shock, Hajime felt unexpectedly cowed and humiliated by the ninja in front of him. Soon though, his distorted sense of pride and self-worth inserted themselves in his mind and he stood up with outraged dignity before the ninjas from Konoha.

_You are a Hyuuga, and we cower to no one_, a mental picture of his stern autocratic father appeared in his mind reminding him of his clan's superiority over lesser clans.

"How dare you speak to me in such a manner, Uchiha?" He replied with reckless hauteur as he spat out his name. "I am a Hyuuga, and my clan was here long before your pathetic clan even existed."

At the slur on his clan, Sasuke swooped down on him in a flash like an avenging angel, his Sharingan blazing terrifyingly as he stood right in the foolish man's face.

"Tch, I could have snapped your neck before you even had time to activate your Byakugan." Sasuke taunted him dangerously with a kunai knife pressed against his chest.

Eyes narrowing and swallowing his fear, Hajime refused to back up from the Uchiha and looked him in the eye with his Byakugan activated.

"Unhand me, Uchiha." He squeaked out before clearing his throat slightly. "The Hokage is going to hear all about this incident…" He continued imperiously, while trying to hide his growing trepidation.

"Not if you are dead." Sasuke told him with chilling indifference as the idea of implementing plan B was beginning to look very tempting to him.

"Sasuke." Itachi's emotionless voice reminded him they had volunteered for the mission for recon purposes only.

"You are lucky for now, Saito-Hyuuga." Sasuke warned him mockingly as he turned around completely unafraid of the ninja behind him and returned to his brother's side.

"We are wasting time." Itachi reminded both of them coldly as he began walking back to Konoha.

Muttering angrily to himself, Hajime slung his heavy back-pack over his shoulder and jerked the handle of his bag and began pulling it indignantly behind him.

As he walked, Itachi's mind filtered all of the information he had just gleaned about Hinata's cousin. He was glad he had brought his brother along; Sasuke's blunt way of handling things had been very useful in exposing the Hyuuga's motives and weaknesses. And it allowed him to be an observer and watch everything.

"I still think you should just let me eliminate him." Sasuke muttered as he walked next to his brother.

"We'll see..." Itachi told him evasively as he stared out in front of him and knew he had to let Hinata be the one to deal with him. But he would keep Sasuke's option open…just in case.

oooOOOooo

Pressing Itachi's journal to her chest, Hinata clung to it as a lifeline as she felt she was being swept away by problems that she had very little control over. Her life yawned before her, a lonely gaping hole where she would be denied everyone and everything she loved. If she went through with this sham of a marriage she would be forced to move and live amongst people who did not care about her and considered her to be a liability to the clan.

_I have to find a way out._ She told herself for about the hundredth time that day. Her mind went over the agreement between her father and the elder and realized it left her some options but few of them were viable ones for her.

She could cry off and refuse to go through with it, but her father would never let her, nor would her own sense of honor.

Her cousin Hajime could cry off, but Hinata didn't think he would do something like that because of his greedy nature. She knew her cousin had long coveted the main family's prestige and wealth.

There was a clause in the contract where it could be terminated on grounds of infidelity, gross misconduct or if either party sought to cause harm to the other, either politically or financially through the marriage.

Frustration overcame her as she considered her options. She wouldn't be able to do any of those things and if her cousin was involved in anything shady it would be up to her to prove it.

Her shoulders drooped slightly as she was fully aware that being deceptive and suspicious were not something she was good at. It would be ridiculous for her to even attempt it.

Her mouth tightened as she stared out the window and hoped Mikoto was right and they would be able to find a way of this mess. If they didn't, Hinata knew she had no one else to blame but herself.

Sadly, she knew it had to be this way and would do it again if the same choice was set before her. At least Hanabi was free to do as she liked in the future…

Aimlessly trying to take her mind off of her problems, she opened Itachi's journal as Shizune's voice droned on at the front of the classroom and something she had never noticed before caught her eye as the light shone on it.

Hinata saw a letter hidden in one of the diagrams. Turning the page, she examined the other diagram closely and saw another letter.

_Oh Itachi_. She thought in amazement at how wonderful his brain was.

Rapidly, she began writing the letters down until she saw the question.

_Will you decorate my house for me? _

_Oh, if only…I could, _she thought feeling completely hemmed in by a trap of her own making. Suddenly the loss of him, was unbearably painful, she had to get out.

Picking up her books she ran from the classroom as tears spilled over her eyes. As she ran down the hallway she looked through an open door and saw an empty classroom, after running inside she closed the door behind her and let her emotions out…

oooOOOooo

"Enter." The Hokage ordered loudly from behind her desk.

Sasuke and Itachi entered through the door and nodded their heads in respect before the leader of their village.

"Lady Hokage, we have completed our mission without incident or difficulties." Itachi reported in an efficient and slightly perfunctory manner.

Lady Tsunade looked over their shoulders with raised eye brows.

"Where is the client? You were expected an hour ago, what took you so long?"

Itachi and Sasuke shared a long suffering look, before Sasuke responded irritably.

"He's coming."

A stumbling noise in the hallway alerted them to his presence.

The Hokage hid her smile behind her hands as she saw her orders must have been followed to the letter. She looked at the Uchiha brothers and wished she had a hundred more like them. Especially Itachi, he always followed orders perfectly, no matter what.

Red faced and breathing hard, Saito-Hyuuga Hajime swept through the door full of righteous indignation as he set his luggage down stiffly.

"Lady Hokage." He said tightly as he bowed politely before her. Standing up to his full height of 5'10, he took a deep breath and tried to gain control of his emotions. His father taught him a Hyuuga must show restraint at all times.

"I would like to file a complaint against Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke for gross negligence and misconduct towards a client and for conduct unbecoming a ninja."

At the charges, Itachi didn't even blink an eye as his face remained perfectly composed. Sasuke smirked slightly and looked almost amused as he glared at the client.

Hiding her choked laughter behind a cough, the Hokage cleared her throat noisily.

"Those are very serious charges you are leveling against my ninjas." She responded in a hard voice. "Explain yourself."

"I would be happy to, Lady Hokage." Saito-Hyuuga replied smugly as he shot a venomous glare toward the brothers. "Over the whole twenty mile plus journey from my home village to yours, I was forced to carry a very heavy backpack and drag a large suitcase without any assistance from them whatsoever." He said tightly as he could feel himself becoming angry just thinking about the injustice of it all. "With very few breaks,… they barely let me even stop to get a drink of water."

"Hn, you went so slowly and stopped so often, we considered those times to be your breaks." Sasuke said indifferently as he shrugged his shoulders.

The Hokage nodded complacently, accepting their defense, before staring at the client with a serious and slightly mocking expression on her face. "Hm,…what about the misconduct allegation?"

He pointed toward Sasuke with narrowed eyes. "_He_ …threatened to kill me."

Sasuke rolled his eyes in a deliberately insulting manner. "If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be here right now."

The Hokage looked with mild amusement at Sasuke, "Did you threaten to kill him?"

"Yes, he insulted my clan." Sasuke replied flatly.

"In the future, I expect you to show more control over your emotions."

"Yes ma'am." Sasuke said unrepentantly with a small smirk on his face.

"Wait-a-minute." Saito-Hyuuga spat out in a tight and angry voice, becoming increasingly irate. "Is that all?" The twenty year old spluttered out in disbelief. "Aren't you going to punish them for mistreating and threatening me?"

"Are you telling me how to do my job?" Tsunade yelled as she slammed her hand down hard on her desk, almost causing it to crack.

At seeing her infamous quick temper directed at him, his eyes almost popped out of his head. "N-no, of course not, Lady Hokage."

Lady Tsunade looked at him and realized it was times like these that made her job almost tolerable.

"They performed their duties properly and had they wished you to be dead you most certainly would be. Your father paid for the best and that was what I provided for you." She explained to him in her best Hokage voice.

Still seething with anger, Saito-Hyuuga lowered his head and tried to keep his mouth shut.

"They could have helped me carry my luggage." He muttered petulantly under his breath, unable to stop himself.

The Hokage looked at him and shook her head at how pathetic he was.

"If they had, it would have impaired their ability to protect you." She explained to him slowly as if he was a small and mentally retarded child. "Next time, I suggest you pack lightly for the journey here."

Hajime stood there in shock as all them looked at him like he was some sort of idiot. He couldn't believe it, because back at home people always treated him deferentially and with respect. Or else…

_How dare the Hokage and those Uchiha bastards treat me in such a disrespectful and demeaning manner! _He fumed in silent rage.

"Take a seat in the hallway, your cousin Neji should be here momentarily to escort you to the Hyuuga clan compound." She told him dismissively.

His pride all but destroyed, he had no choice but to obey her meekly and go out in the hallway, as he turned to go, he glared at the Uchiha brothers with eyes full of venom.

After Hajime had left, Sasuke and Itachi turned to go.

Shizune walked into the office.

"Uchiha-san, please stay a moment." She asked Itachi as she closed the door behind Sasuke.

"I know you are technically on leave right now, however, I was wondering if you would help me with a student of mine." Shizune asked him getting straight to the point with a teasing grin on her face.

"How many weeks are left in the class?" Itachi asked.

"Two." Shizune replied.

"Fine, I will go help her." He told them as he turned to leave; he could tell by the teasing looks on their faces the student Shizune was referring to was Hinata.

"Wait," Lady Tsunade said with a grin on her face. "How about we make it a little more interesting?"

Beginning to wonder just who else was going to meddle in his and Hinata's lives, Itachi turned toward them with even less than normal enthusiasm.

"How?" He asked flatly.

oooOOOooo

"I am here." Neji told his distant relative in a coolly reserved manner.

"Ah Neji, you are finally here." Hajime said in a sneering voice heavy with sarcasm. "I have been waiting for nearly a half an hour."

"It was unavoidable." Neji said unapologetically as he turned to leave, expecting his cousin would follow him.

"Uh, hmm," Hajime said loudly clearing his throat to get Neji's attention.

"I would like for you to assist me with my luggage."

"No." Neji refused insolently.

_Unbelievable._ Hajime complained mentally as he looked up toward the ceiling in frustration.

"Listen Branch Member," he threatened through clenched teeth as he looked at Neji menacingly. "I have had to deal with more than enough shit today, I will not put up with it from you. Obey me or I will use the god-damned seal."

"Try it and I will kick your ass." Neji returned unemotionally as he looked down a little smugly at his shorter relative. "My seal has been removed."

Neji turned around and began walking down the hallway and could care less if his asshole cousin followed him or not.

_Don't underestimate me cousin_, Hajime thought as he angrily picked up his luggage and began trudging down the long hallway.

oooOOOooo

Hinata turned around as she heard the door open behind her in the hospital classroom.

Her eyes opened wide as she stood there and watched him walk towards her and wondered if she was dreaming. The whole time she had been staring out the window she had been hoping somehow she could see him again. She knew she shouldn't even go near him, but part of her couldn't resist.

She missed him too much.

As her eyes devoured the sight of him, Hinata noticed something was different in the way he looked at her.

He was hiding his emotions from her, just like he did with everyone else.

Turning away from him as her stomach clenched painfully, she knew it wasn't his fault. She had made her choice and now she had to live with it.

"I'm sorry, Itachi." She told him in a strained voice as she tried to keep the misery of losing him at bay.

"I don't blame you Hinata." He told her unemotionally as he came up behind her and stood so close he was almost touching her. "You did what you felt was right."

At his words and the note of approval she heard in his voice she closed her eyes and leaned slightly back against him. Feeling warmer and more secure than she had in days, she sighed in relief as she felt… almost happy.

"I love you, Itachi." She murmured softly and was shocked when she realized she had spoken the words out loud.

_Oh no!_ She cringed mentally.

"F-forgive me; I have…n-no right to say those words to you." She whispered brokenly as she turned to go; not wanting to disgrace herself even more in front of him.

Itachi blocked her path with hard eyes; his hands were firm on her shoulders.

"Stop it Hinata."

Stunned at the tone of voice he used, she stood still as a statue in front of him. All thoughts of breaking down and being emotional stopped as she recognized the authority and the irritation in his voice. Confused, she looked down at the ground.

"Look at me." He said slightly more gently as he put his hand firmly under her chin and lifted it up.

As she raised her eyes toward his, she took a ragged breath. She saw no sign of sympathy or comfort, only relentless black eyes that bore down on her telling her to stop acting childishly.

"You made your choice, now you have to either learn to live with it or find a way to change it." He lectured her unequivocally without a hint of compassion or kindness in his voice. "Crying and feeling sorry for yourself is counterproductive."

Hinata realized she was seeing the ANBU Captain in him and almost melted at his feet at how capable and strong he was. But the hard glint in his eyes told her he would give up on her altogether if she did such a thing.

As she looked up at him she almost apologized and then realized he didn't want to hear that from her. He wanted to see her get stronger.

She sighed and he removed his hand from under her chin.

"I've read the documents and I don't know how to break the agreement." She told him woodenly as her problems began to look insurmountable to her again.

"I can't do something…dishonorable… or be manipulative," she told him in a slightly panicked voice. "I-I wouldn't even know how to and…well, it just isn't me."

Itachi almost looked amused as he agreed with her. The thought of her acting like that would almost be ridiculous.

"Leave the scheming and manipulation to my mother and your sister." He told her with a long suffering sigh. "They both seem to thrive on it and it will keep them from bothering us."

A choked laugh escaped her at his assessment of Hanabi and Mikoto. Before she left the house this morning Hanabi was already reading through the document with the acumen of a well-paid lawyer. Hinata almost shivered at the look on her sister's determined face. It was almost a mirror of the look she had seen on Mikoto's face the night before.

A small shudder escaped her and she almost felt sorry for her jerk of a cousin.

Hinata frowned as she remembered the last thing Itachi had said, she looked at him with a slight blush on her face.

"What do you mean about keeping them from bothering us?" She asked him in a slightly breathless voice as she couldn't keep herself staring at his mouth.

"I am here because the Hokage asked me to be your tutor." Itachi explained to her impassively.

Hinata wanted to sink into the floor in embarrassment.

He didn't come here to see her because he wanted to talk to her; he came because he was assigned to her. And she was practically throwing herself at him and… she was the one engaged to someone else.

Anxiously she spun around and looked out of the window with unfocused eyes.

"Whatever you are thinking, stop it right now." Itachi warned her firmly as he came up behind her and folded his arms around her.

Hinata closed her eyes and forced her mind to stop racing and made herself listen to him.

"I am currently on leave from ANBU and the Hokage gave the assignment to me to give us time together."

_And to test my teaching skills._ He thought irritably, but decided to leave that part out.

She turned around and looked at him slightly bemused and a little upset that the Hokage was so disappointed in her; she thought she needed a tutor.

"There is two weeks left in the course,…um, how long are you going to work with me?" Hinata asked him a little suspiciously as something about the way he was looking at her was making her feel a little nervous.

"Three days and then you will be required to take the final and you have to pass it on the first try." He told her blandly. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly as he saw the look of horror on her face.

"But Itachi, I'm not you." She spluttered out anxiously. "I can't learn all of that in three days."

"Yes, you can." He told her adamantly.

She shook her head a little in denial.

"I actually have to learn three weeks worth of material because…ever since I started seeing you, I haven't been able to concentrate enough to learn anything." She admitted softly to him as she looked down at the ground and gripped nervously the back of a chair with her hands.

Itachi came up to her and lowered his head and kissed the side of her face and her neck. "Why do you think I took leave from work?" He told her quietly as he pushed her back slightly and guided her into a seat behind a desk.

A slow smile formed on her face as his small admission made her feel better.

Looking around the room, Itachi found her textbook and handed it to her and sat down across from her.

"Now show me where you want to begin?" He asked her brusquely, the look on his face was almost business-like.

Hinata's face turned red as she flipped through the book and saw the purple little hearts she had doodled unconsciously all over the textbook.

She quickly turned past the pages until she found the last page she truly remembered and understood. It was also mercifully purple heart free, so it must have been before she started liking him.

"There." She said as she pointed to a chapter in the book and looked up at him with a rueful grin on her face.

"Hinata, give me all of your pens." He ordered her as he held out his hand, his eyes as he looked at her were relentlessly firm.

Digging through her book-bag she found several, but left her purple pen in the bag. It was her favorite.

Itachi put them to the side and reached his hand out again with one raised eye brow warning her to not to mess with him.

Sighing a little huffily to herself, she reached in the bag and pulled out her purple pen and handed it to him.

"Thank you." He told her politely. "Let's get started."

"Okay." Hinata responded slightly hesitantly, feeling a bit over her head.

After all, he was a genius and she was just…smart, and the gap between them seemed to be pretty wide at the moment to her.

She looked up at him and saw he was looking at her with a mixture of pride, concern and determination.

He was letting her see him again.

He was trusting her.

She had no choice but to trust him.

"I'm ready Itachi." She told him as she set her mind to focusing completely on the material before her.

**

_**Author's Note:**_ I consider this chapter to be part one of the intro scene for Hajime. I am dying to write a dysfunctional dinner scene with the Hyuuga family sans Hinata, she will be studying with Itachi. I have already started writing it and will post it probably tomorrow or Sunday. Thanks for reading and sticking with me, I really appreciate it.

**Manga Chapter Spoilers:** (Ch 487) Yay! Kisame is not dead. My faith in Kishimoto is a tiny bit restored. I wonder if Itachi's eyes will end up giving Sasuke an improved outlook on life. (Um, I doubt it but I will wait and see…) I can't wait to see how it changes his Mangekyo Sharingan, I bet it will be awesome! Sighing, Sakura, as usual, was just a waste of space in the chapter, crying, pissing me off, you know-- the usual stuff. Anyway, just my thoughts, if any of you want to discuss the manga please feel free to PM me.


	15. Chapter 15

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**Chapter 15**

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Thanks so much to all of you for sticking with me on this story, I apologize for taking so long to update, I just haven't had any free time. I will try to get the next chapter out ASAP._

* * *

Surveying the landscape with hard-earned satisfaction, Fugaku pounded in the "KEEP OFF THE GRASS" sign into the newly seeded lawn.

He had spoken to the entire clan this morning and they assured him they would stay away from the lawn for the duration of the contest. He was still nervous his wife was going to pull something, so he took precautions and hired some ninjas from the Aburame Clan to watch over the lawn. He smiled to himself knowing no one could get past their sentries.

Sighing to himself, he was beginning to ask himself if winning at the cost of his family was worth it. He realized it wasn't, but decided to deal with the loneliness for a few more days until after the contest was over. Then he would apologize to his family and try to get them to come back to him.

Gathering his workers around him, they all headed wearily back to the Uchiha compound.

oooOOOooo

Hajime finally spotted the huge complex and looked upon it with greedy eyes. Marrying Hinata will get him one step closer to his goal of becoming lord and master one day.

He decided Neji would be the first one he kicked out of clan after he took over.

Dragging his heavy Luggage towards the gate he was pleasantly surprised to see one of the gatekeepers rush over to him and bow deferentially before him.

_At least some people know their proper place_, he thought slightly placated as he remembered Neji's belligerent attitude towards him.

"Welcome Saito-Hyuuga-sama, we have been expecting you." The gatekeeper said politely as he took one of his bags from him.

Without even thanking the branch member he strode arrogantly through the gate and was shocked by what he saw.

Instead of the usual manicured green perfection he was used to, he saw bulldozed ground and black scorch marks that looked like the lawn was torched with fire recently. His eyebrows lifted with stunned curiosity as he followed the branch member into the house.

"What happened to Hiashi-sama's lawn?" He asked somewhat conspiratorially trying to obtain gossip that he knew was just lurking beneath the surface.

The branch member turned to him with a carefully blank face.

"I am not at liberty to discuss it, Saito-Hyuuga-sama." He replied repressively and began walking down the hallway towards the guest room.

After depositing his luggage in his room the branch member turned around somberly.

"Dinner will be served at six, don't be late." He reminded him before he closed the door behind him.

Hajime flopped on the bed and allowed his eyes to wander over the lavish furnishings in his room. He decided he could very easily get used to this lifestyle.

His family was very well off and highly respected in his village, but they had nothing on the main house. Most of the wealth and prestige rested solely with them.

As he laid there on his bed, a mental picture of the Hokage, and the Uchiha brothers and all of the other people who have been disrespectful towards him came into his mind.

_Soon, all of you will respect me_. He thought vindictively as he began to get sleepy. Curling up in a fetal position he allowed himself to take a nap.

oooOOOooo

Stifling a yawn with her hand, Hinata put her head back and stretched her arms over her head tiredly. She was finding Itachi was an insanely hard task master, but all of the hard work was worth it as she had already learned all the material she had daydreamed through over the past week.

Smiling as she looked at him standing in front of the window, she thought of how before she met him she never had problems concentrating or learning anything. She had always been able to put her mind…to…

Itachi came behind her and began messaging her neck and shoulders. His mouth soon followed and began trailing small kisses down the side of her neck and the base of her shoulders.

_Ano…what was I thinking about before_? She thought, losing her train of thought.

Warmth began to spread over her as she leaned her head back against him and melted under the touch of his hands.

"Itachi." Hinata said softly as she closed her eyes with a smile.

"Yes?" He replied against her neck, making her shiver slightly.

"You're… distracting me." She said weakly as she felt her mind get all tangled up and become increasingly hazy.

"You may take a break." Itachi told her abruptly as he stopped touching her and stood up. Turning away sharply to look out the window he shook his head impatiently as he silently remonstrated himself for giving into his need to touch her.

Hinata released a relieved breath, yet at the same time she mourned the loss of his touch as he stepped away from her. Ever since she had told him she was to marry someone else, their relationship had by an unspoken mutual agreement, become uncomfortably platonic.

And in this classroom, their relationship had morphed yet again into one of teacher and student. Unfortunately for them, no matter how hard they tried to deny it, the intense feelings they had for each other lay simmering just beneath the surface, always there, always needing to be suppressed.

Standing up and stretching, Hinata wondered how she was going to be able to handle being so close to him and not be able to touch him or kiss him for three whole days.

Spending all of that time with him was going to be a combination of pure torture and bliss she decided as she glanced over with longing in his direction. But as she considered the alternative, being separated from him and not seeing him at all, would be infinitely worse.

No matter what happens in the future, she realized finally, at least she would have these days and the ones prior to it, to look back upon.

"Meet me at my house." He told her out of the blue, as he began making hand signs to dissipate. "We will continue studying after dinner."

Hinata watched as he disappeared feeling a little happier at his invitation. Both of them knew they couldn't go out together in public, because all of the gossip it would cause, she didn't want to give her cousin any ammunition to use against her.

oooOOOooo

Standing before the door of Itachi's house, Hinata was surprised when it was Sasuke and not Itachi, who opened the door to let her in.

"Uh, hello, Sasuke." Hinata said to him slightly off guard as her eyes unconsciously searched the room for Itachi.

Warmth and unspeakable joy unfurled in her chest when she spotted Itachi coming through the doorway into the kitchen. Her eyes lingered over him in helpless adoration before he looked at her and gave her a small smile in return.

Hinata breath caught in her throat as she recognized that smile as one that belonged solely to her. She knew instinctively he never looked at anyone else in that way, only her.

Sasuke stood in front of Hinata and watched the unguarded look of longing on her face and felt the intense emotional intimacy that ran between them and began to feel uncomfortably like a third wheel. He almost got the sense they were so into each other they didn't even notice he was there in the room with them.

Clearing his throat noisily, Sasuke smirked knowingly to himself when he saw Hinata startle slightly and blush, before she removed her eyes from his brother and looked his way.

Turning towards Itachi, Sasuke read the silent message in his brother's eyes for him to "get lost."

"Fine, I will come back in a couple of hours." He said with a slightly mocking tone as he walked out past Hinata out the back door.

A shadow passed over Hinata's face as she realized something.

"Y-your brother… is staying with you?" She asked him quietly as she turned away from him and closed the door behind her.

"Yes." Itachi replied calmly, knowing she was already blaming herself for it.

"Is it because of me?" She asked him in a small voice as she looked at the floor.

Itachi looked at her and sighed. This habit she had of taking the blame for everything had to stop.

"My father is being an idiot, along with your father." Itachi told her wearily. "The blame belongs squarely on them."

Relief poured through her at his words, she was thankful he wasn't blaming her for any of it.

"I know my father is," Hinata replied with a sigh agreeing with him. "I just feel so bad that I helped… cause a rift between you and…your father."

"He made his choice, now he has to live with it." Itachi told her indifferently as he moved closer to her.

Hinata looked at him as he stood there seemingly indifferent at the loss of his relationship with his father, but she knew deep down it had to bother him.

Swallowing a little, she looked up at him with troubled eyes.

"I-it doesn't have to be this way…I could stay away from you and…"

"That would solve nothing." Itachi said interrupting her flatly. His eyes as he looked at her were implacable and a little possessive. "Besides, _you_ are not going anywhere."

At his words and the look in his eyes Hinata made a soft sound in her throat and leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him. Releasing a strained breath, she felt some of the tension she had felt all day leave her as he suddenly put his arms around her and hauled her into his chest.

"For the next few days, you are going to train and study and you are going to pass that test." Itachi told her in a matter of fact voice.

Snuggling her face into his chest, she wished it could be so simple and that was all she needed to worry about.

"What about Hajime?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he pulled away from her a little and looked down at her with a knowing and slightly contemptuous look on his face.

"What about him?" He asked indifferently.

Searching his eyes and face Hinata grinned slightly.

"I take it… you have met him already?"

A look of disgust passed over his face.

"Yes, Sasuke and I escorted him to Konoha this morning."

A giggle escaped her. "He is awful, isn't he?"

"He is pathetic and not worthy of our time." Itachi told her offhandedly as his black eyes lowered slightly as they traveled over her face.

Something in the way he looked at her caught her eye and over-rode the feelings of elation she was beginning to feel as she recognized that look in them.

"Itachi, you know something, don't you?" She asked him with a frown on her face.

His expression became closed and his lips tightened slightly.

"Yes."

Hinata looked up at him patiently and waited for him to tell her what he knew.

Staring down at her, his eyes narrowed a little as they searched hers for a long time. When he didn't find what he was looking for he looked away from her.

Hinata sighed in exasperation and disappointment when she figured out he wasn't going to tell her anything.

"When the time comes you will know what you need to do." Itachi told her evasively with firm eyes. "Let your sister deal with him, you have other more important things to attend to."

Hinata searched his eyes and saw not only the ANBU Captain in them again but strangely something else.

He was challenging her, daring her to stand up for herself.

Hinata smiled weakly at him and felt something begin to rise up within her, as his confidence in her and her success this morning began to break through the critical voice of her father and her own insecurities in her head.

She was done with crying and feeling sorry for herself, she was ready to fight.

Itachi searched her eyes and this time he liked what he saw. A slightly grim smile formed on his face.

Looking into his relentless black eyes, Hinata only saw the ANBU Captain in them and swallowed as she had a feeling she was about to see a side of him that his squad members knew only too well.

"After dinner we will go to my clan's training grounds and work on building up your chakra levels. You are going to need a lot of it to pass the test." He explained to her impassively as he opened up the fridge and took out some leftovers his mother had made at lunchtime.

Hinata looked at him with confusion in her eyes as what he was suggesting didn't sound too bad. Maybe, I misread him…

oooOOOooo

Upon entering the family dining room, Hajime bowed respectfully before the leader of his clan.

"Uncle Hiashi." He said with smug cheerfulness as he lifted his eyes before him.

Looking down upon his relative, Hiashi's mouth quirked slightly with hidden amusement, before he directed an icy glare at him.

"Call me Hiashi-sama." He told the young man in front of him oppressively, firmly putting him in his place. "You have not earned the right to call me anything else."

Bewildered at the cold welcome he was receiving, Hajime looked at his future father in law with confused eyes. He had been expecting a much warmer welcome from him.

"But, Hiashi-sama, I am marrying your daughter, doesn't that earn me some respect?" He whined slightly.

"No," Hiashi told him as he gestured impatiently toward a chair, "Now take your seat,… you are holding up dinner."

Already seated at the table, Hanabi hid her choked laughter behind a napkin as the look on her cousin's pouting face reminded her of a dying flounder as his mouth flailed open and closed.

Seated next to Hiashi with perfectly straight posture, Neji watched with growing disgust as his distant cousin sat across from him next to Hanabi.

A slight smirk graced his face as he inclined his head a small amount towards the head of the table.

"Uncle?" He said in a respectful tone, purposely rubbing it in that he had _earned_ the right to call him that. "The Hokage asked me to relay a message to you that Hinata is working on an assignment for her over the next three days and will be home later this evening."

Hiashi looked annoyed. "What kind of an assignment?"

"I am not sure uncle; the details of the assignment were not disclosed to me." Neji replied obliquely with perfect composure.

Hajime watched Neji with growing irritation as he took in the easy relationship he had with Hiashi-sama. His lips tightened into a small smirk as he looked forward to the day when he would be able to boot him out of the clan for good.

"How was your trip here, Hajime?" Hanabi asked him pleasantly as she directed his attention toward her.

At hearing her unusually pleasant tone, Hiashi and Neji eyed her askance.

Feeling his eyes on her, Hanabi winked at Neji before carefully lowering her eyes down toward her plate.

A little wary at her tone, Hajime turned toward Hanabi and noted for once she was genuinely trying to be polite to him.

"It was intolerable," He told her tightly, trying to keep himself under control in front of Hiashi-sama.

"Really, what happened?" Hanabi asked him with a mock look of concern on her face as she took a sip of tea.

A flash of anger passed over him as he thought about what happened earlier today.

"Uhg, I was escorted by those stuck-up Uchiha brothers and they were inexcusably rude and treated me in a very disrespectful manner." Hajime complained with a mulish look on his face as he gripped his chopsticks tightly.

"You should be grateful you are still alive, Hajime." Hiashi told him with a grimly amused look on his face as he buttered his roll placidly.

"How so, Hiashi-sama?" Hajime asked him curiously as he wondered what either of the Uchihas could possibly have against him. He frowned as he knew he had never met them before today.

"Until recently, Uchiha Itachi had been dating Hinata and she was forced to stop seeing him because of her promise to marry you." Hiashi explained to him with callous indifference.

A triumphant smile formed on Hajime's face as the light came on and he realized why he was treated so badly earlier.

"So, he is jealous of me…hmm… interesting," Hajime mused out-loud with a smug smile on his face.

"Hardly." Neji said caustically at the sheer absurdity of that statement as he rolled his eyes.

_What an idiot_. Hanabi thought as she watched him with mock derision out of the corner of her eye trying to contain her laughter at his ridiculous statement.

She looked at him with false concern as she handed her water glass to the branch member standing behind her to refill.

"More water, cousin?" She asked as she accidentally spilled hers in his lap.

"Yowww." His high pitch scream pierced the room as he jumped up and looked at her in rage.

"You did that on purpose?" He accused her with narrowed eyes.

Hanabi lifted her chin and stared back at him with icy composure. "It was an accident, I assure you."

"Sit down Hajime." Hiashi told him abruptly, clearly annoyed at having his supper interrupted.

"Hai, Hiashi-sama." He told him in a glum voice as he eyed Hanabi, in the chair next to him warily as he sat down.

"I am on to you, Hanabi." He whispered to her menacingly with hard white eyes.

A slow smile spread over her face, now that she could come out in the open.

"You are trying to embarrass me in front of your father aren't you? You little bitch."

Hanabi looked at him with a contemptuous smile. "No, you are doing that all on your own." She whispered to him as she glanced meaningfully out of the side of her eyes over at her father.

A feeling of dread passed over him as he felt hard eyes were watching him from the head of the table.

"Hajime." Hiashi said in a forbidding voice as he pinned him down with cold eyes. "We do not use offensive language at the dinner table in my household."

"My apologies, Hiashi-sama." Hajime said with tight lips in a mortified voice. Rigid with embarrassment, he turned a poisonous glare on Hanabi.

_One day bitch and you will be gone, just you wait. _Hajime thought venomously as he looked forward to the day when he was in charge around here.

Hanabi looked over at him with innocent eyes before she turned her attention back onto her dinner plate.

"Father, how is the lawn coming along over at the Nara's?" She asked him politely with as her the corner of her mouth twisted slightly.

Hiashi shot her a hard glare before he turned his attention back to his plate.

As he ate he thought of the pathetic scene he had witnessed this morning when he and his men approached Nara Shikaku's house. In the front yard they spotted the Nara clan head passed out in a drunken stupor as his wife screamed obscenities at him. Hiashi almost lost his appetite as he remembered all of the flies swarming around Shikaku as he hauled himself up from the pool of vomit he was lying in and stumbled into the house.

_Uhg, disgusting_. Hiashi thought as he pushed his plate away from him. His eyes turned hard at the thought of that filthy and common clan getting the best of him. He was not about to let that happen.

Standing up with rigid posture he nodded coldly toward his family and left the room and headed toward his greenhouse.

Hajime waited a few moments for Hiashi-sama to be completely out of the area before he looked over at his cousins with a knowing smirk on his face.

"It's not going to work you know." He boasted arrogantly.

At his words Hanabi and Neji shared a mocking glance.

"I am going to marry Hinata and there is nothing you can do to stop me." He bragged with a hard laugh.

"We will see about that." Hanabi replied coolly as she took a small sip of her wine. A grin formed on her face as she glanced at Hajime, unable to resist the opportunity to take a verbal shot at him. "I think you are forgetting about the Uchiha. He really likes her a lot, you know."

Hajime paled as he remembered those deadly cold black eyes on him. He knew he was no match for him or even his younger brother in a fight. He swallowed tightly and hoped she was exaggerating a bit.

"I am not afraid of him." He said bluffing as he began to sway drunkenly as a wave of dizziness swept over him. Suddenly the room was beginning to spin nauseatingly and his eyes began to feel heavy and sleepy as if they had weights on them pulling them closed.

"What did… you do…" Hajime accused Hanabi in a slurred voice as he realized what was happening to him, just before his face landed in his plate.

Hanabi reached over and shook his shoulder hard and grinned at him with a small smile when she saw he was out cold.

After wiping her mouth primly with her napkin, she stood up from the table and looked at her cousin with determined eyes.

"Come on, let's go look through his belongings." She told him calmly.

Neji sighed and rolled his eyes. "Was all of this really necessary?" He asked her in a slightly annoyed voice for getting him involved in her little war. "You could have just used your Byakugan to look through his things after he went to bed tonight."

Hanabi giggled as she walked down the hall. "Yes I know, but it is more fun this way."

"Whatever." Neji said in an irritated voice as he followed her down the hallway and into Hajime's room.

As Hanabi was going through his things, Hajime burst through the door into the room.

"Ha, I am immune to your little drugs, little girl." He bragged taunting her with bits of food stuck to his face and dripping from his spiky hair.

Unimpressed, Hanabi and Neji shrugged their shoulders and stood up to leave.

"You're a loser." She told him dismissively.

"Hmpf, you didn't find anything, did you?" He asked with eyes glittering with self pride. He walked over to the bed and sat down on it. "I read the contract and understand the terms…in it." He said just before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell back on the bed with a loud snore.

"Just how much of a sedative did you give him?" Neji asked her in an offhand voice.

Hanabi shrugged. "Who knows, I just told the kitchen staff to add as much as they wanted to in his food."

"Oops." She giggled as she realized they must have given him all of it. She hoped with any luck he would die from it.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Hanabi and Neji activated their Byakugans and searched through the rest of his things. Neji figured since he was already involved he might as well stay and help her out.

After searching for a while her face began to fall when she realized Hajime wasn't joking when he said he wasn't hiding anything. She looked at Neji and he shrugged as he couldn't find anything to use against him either.

Reluctantly she looked some more through his things and her eyes lit up as she spotted something. At the bottom of his suitcase were a couple of magazines and both of them had girls with long blonde hair and blue eyes on the cover.

A grin broke out over her face as an idea came to her.

She hauled Neji out into the hallway. "Neji, you have to take him out drinking tomorrow night." She told him excitedly.

"Oh, hell no." Neji refused as he folded his arms across his chest.

Hanabi drew a frustrated sigh. "But, I can't do it because I am too young. It has to be you and I need you to introduce him to someone..."

Neji knew he had no choice but to get involved, he didn't want to see Hinata married to that jerk anymore than Hanabi did.

He took a resigned breath.

"Who?" He asked with little enthusiasm.

Hanabi grinned as she looked at him a little apologetically. "Ino, he has a thing for blondes with blue eyes."

Neji mentally cringed at having to deal with her; she was just so irritating and loud. He decided he would enlist Tenten to help him; he just couldn't tolerate dealing with Ino on his own.

"Fine, I will do it." He told her as he left her and headed toward his bedroom.

oooOOOooo

A weary sense of exhilaration flooded her senses as she felt her chakra increase incrementally. Hinata looked over at him with a triumphant grin on her face as he taught her how to unlock and expand her chakra.

Hinata looked at him with gratitude shining from her exhausted eyes. He had pushed her relentlessly, doing one training exercise after another for several hours and it was well past midnight, but in her mind it was all worth it.

She was getting stronger and unlocking a potential within herself that she never even knew existed. As she went to stand up she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

Itachi noticed her tiredness and walked over to her and placed his hand under her arm to steady her.

"Hinata, we are done for the day; I will take you home now." Itachi told her with an approving glance at her. He was impressed by her determination to work hard and improve.

Unable to stop herself, Hinata leaned into him and lifted up her face toward his in a silent request.

Lifting up his hands slowly he placed them on the sides of her face and glided them through her hair almost reverently. Her eyes closed slowly as his hands formed around the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him.

A breeze blew across them and she shivered against his chest.

Lowering his mouth onto hers, he kissed her gently, comforting her as his hands stroked her back. At the sweetness of his touch and his lips on hers, Hinata's hands gripped his shoulders and she pressed herself into him longing to be closer to him.

Itachi's kiss began to deepen as his arm tightened around her waist while his other hand was sliding slowly up her back, sensuously around her nape.

Hinata's heart began to thud in her chest as he began to kiss her with demanding hunger. When he finally pulled away from her an eternity later, their eyes were smoldering as they stared at each other.

Hinata took a ragged breath and hid her warm face in his chest.

"I'm sorry Itachi; I just missed you... so much." She told him achingly, even though she had been with him all day, he knew what she meant.

Another breeze blew past them as it was getting colder. Hinata shivered against him, beginning to feel cold.

"I will walk you home now; we have more training to do tomorrow." He told her unemotionally as he placed his hand around hers.

They walked together mostly in silence with the moon as their only light. As they neared the Hyuuga compound, Hinata remembered something from earlier in the day.

"Itachi?" She asked him quietly.

He turned toward her with patient eyes.

Hinata blushed uncomfortably, unsure of how to bring this question up.

"Did you um…ask me another question in your journal?" She asked him shyly.

"Yes." He replied as his eyes scanned over her with increasing intensity.

Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief that she wasn't seeing things and that it really was in there.

"If you still want me to,… I could help decorate your house for you." She offered a little hesitantly.

Itachi was silent for a moment, before he answered her. A frown formed on her face as she wondered what he was thinking about.

"You can't right now." He told her firmly as he turned and looked at her. "My question was conditional."

"Conditional?" Hinata asked him perplexed as she wondered what requirements had to be met first. She could only think of one thing…

Her eyes grew huge as she looked up at him. _Is he asking me…?_

Itachi's eyes were warm on her as he looked down at her.

"We will discuss it again in a few days." He promised her quietly before leaning over and lightly touching her lips with his.

Hinata stood there stunned as she watched him dissipate before her.

Hugging herself with joy, she ran through the gate and into the house.

Inside the house, a pair of sinister Byakugan eyes had been watching her and wondering what she had been up to staying out so late…

**

**Author's Note:** I apologize for taking so long to update, I have had very little time to write and this chapter was very difficult to write for some reason. I am still not very happy with it, except for maybe the ending. Anyway, I have had the next chapter in my head for a while so hopefully it will be better than this one…

**Manga Spoiler:** IMO I think Sasuke is beginning to realize just how much his brother had held back on him during their fight. At the end of the chapter when he mentioned how he could feel Itachi's power surging through him he must have been realizing that (I can only hope he does). Anyway, this whole eye transplant thing really bums me out, because it means that Itachi is definitely dead, I had been hoping that Madara was keeping him alive somewhere and would bring him out later. Anyway, I am consoled a little by the fact that Itachi still remains a large part of the plot in the manga, but I still wish he was alive.


	16. Chapter 16

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 16~**

* * *

**Warning:** Slightly crackish, the chapter also contains nosebleeds and occasional acts of stupidity. Sorry.

* * *

**[ANBU Headquarters]**

The banner across the front of the main conference room read in large letters:

"Welcome New Recruits! ANBU Initiation Day."

Bored beyond belief, Sasuke slumped down in his seat near the front of the room in front of a couple of ninjas he knew only by sight.

While he was setting his program down beside him on the floor he overheard the ninjas behind him whispering.

"Hey, isn't that Uchiha Sasuke?" One whispered to the other. "I want to be on his team."

"Yeah I know, he is awesome." The other ninja whispered in awed tones.

In front of them Sasuke rolled his eyes at how annoying it was to put up with all of the attention and expectations, sometimes he just wished he was anonymous and didn't have to live up to the Uchiha name all of the time.

It didn't help that his brother set up nearly impossible standards to follow. He gave up trying to emulate his brother years ago and decided to go his own way. Itachi was much more cerebral and patient than he was; trying to be like him just wasn't suitable to his personality.

As he sat there, the room got progressively louder and more out of control as they waited for the annual initiation challenge to begin. Out of lack of anything better to do, Sasuke eavesdropped on the ninjas behind him.

"I wonder what they are going to make us do this year; I heard some of the previous recruits had to go through therapy after trying to peek under Hatake Kakashi's mask and take his picture a few years ago."

"Yeah and last year, Yuhi Kurenai, was the target and I heard the new recruits had to try and steal a pair of underwear out of her apartment and several guys almost left her house--missing body parts." The guy listening and Sasuke in front of them both shuddered and unconsciously protected their private parts at the thought _her_ going after someone with genjutsu and a kunai knife.

The room began to settle down as Moreno Ibiki took the stage.

"Welcome new recruits." He said in a loud voice that somehow was the opposite of welcoming and came out almost sinister sounding. Raising his hands like menacing death batons he lowered them trying to settle everyone down.

After scanning over everyone in the room with a speculative look that was so penetrating it bordered on being intrusive, he began his interrogation,… I mean presentation.

"I want to congratulate all of you for being in the top five percent of all Konoha ninjas. Only the best are chosen to become members of ANBU and I look forward to working with each one of you and learning how _best_ to utilize all of your _unique_ talents and _skills_." He said just before an evil looking grin slowly came over his face as he stared at the group of ninjas.

"Trust me when I say you are going to need them this year, ha-ha."

Out in the audience several ninjas gulped nervously as they stared at the stage in utter silence with big eyes.

"Take one tissue and pass it down." The ANBU member standing near his aisle instructed in a bored voice to Sasuke as he handed him a box of tissues.

"Whatever," Sasuke said as he shrugged and passed the box down to the ninja a couple of chairs down from him.

Back up on the stage Moreno Ibiki waited for ANBU to pass out all of the tissues. When he saw they were done he lifted up the microphone to his mouth.

"The Hokage would now like to present this year's initiation challenge to you." He told them in a dire sounding voice.

As Lady Tsunade walked down the center of the conference room, a large photo of her in a sexy black swim-suit flashed up on the screen at the front of room.

Catcalls and nose bleeds abounded throughout the room.

"Hey," She said with fake outrage and a smothered laugh as she pointed to the screen. "How did that get up there?"

_Uh, because you ordered them to,_ Shizune thought with long-suffering sarcasm as she walked behind her carrying Tonton in her arms.

Up on the stage, Lady Hokage raised her hands trying to silence the room. After a few moments and an angry look from her the room finally settled down.

"Before we begin, I just want to say that we are carrying on a proud ANBU tradition that has been around since the very beginning when Kohoha was first founded."

Next to her an unfeeling and slightly terrifying grin spread over the scarred interrogation leader's face as his eyes dissected the crowd, trying to weed out any weak and pathetic losers from amongst them.

_There are too many of you, some of you need to go._ He thought as he listened to the Hokage and his eyes inspected the crowd of ninjas with a critical eye.

"In keeping with tradition, our target was _randomly_ selected out a large pool of jonins, special jonins, ANBU captains and squad leaders by last year's target, Yuhi Kurenai." She explained as she looked at the audience.

At the mention of Kurenai, catcalls and nosebleeds once again broke out across the room.

On the screen behind her a sexy photo of Kurenai in a red bikini flashed on the screen. Jealous, the Hokage flashed an angry look at the person up in the projector booth and the photo was hastily taken down.

"For this challenge we have dubbed it as… mission impossible," she pronounced with dubiously.

"Because there is no way in hell any of you are going to complete this assignment." She continued followed by a harsh laugh.

Murmuring ran wild throughout the crowd as people tried to guess the name of the target.

A fiendish smile came over Lady Tsunade's face as she read off the person's name.

Uchiha Itachi.

A collective gasp, followed by pitiful groans, sounded all over the room.

Nose bleeds and sighs soon followed as a large, shirtless photo of him training in shorts and glistening in sweat appeared on the screen behind the Hokage.

"Your assignment, for those of you willing to accept the challenge, will be to verify the shape of a small scar located on his left butt cheek." Lady Tsunade explained to them with a small smirk on her face. "In order to receive credit the target must acknowledge you have seen it or you must be able to tell us the exact shape and a witness must be able to verify you have seen it."

Sasuke, sitting in the front row suddenly felt every eye in the room on him.

He turned around and glared at all of them with a pissed look of contempt on his face.

"Tch, hell if I know what it looks like." He told them coldly before turning back around to face the front.

Up on the stage, the Hokage tried not to laugh at the look on his face.

"Sasuke, you are exempt from this assignment and I have already promoted you to a team. You may be excused for the rest of the day." Lady Tsunade told him. "However, in keeping with tradition and rules, you are not allowed to warn your brother about the challenge." She reminded him firmly.

"Whatever." He said shrugging his shoulders as he stood up leave. "He is going to figure it out soon enough anyway."

"Yes, I am sure he will." Tsunade said with an amused and knowing grin as she watched him leave the room.

"Alright, settle down." She warned them as the room began to stir again.

"The challenge will end at nine p.m. this evening and use of deadly force is prohibited. If you attempt it, the target will be allowed to retaliate in kind." Tsunade explained to them in a severely grave voice. "Trust me when I tell you, you do not want that to happen, for he may not actually kill you,… but he will probably make you wish he had…"

oooOOOooo

All alone at the breakfast table, Hinata munched on a piece of toast and some fruit as she poured over her text book. Flipping another page, she took another bite of toast and a soft smile turned up her mouth as she chewed.

She just kept wondering about his indirect question. It stunned her a little to think he had been thinking along those lines even before they had started dating.

"You look remarkably cheerful this morning, Hinata." Hajime observed casually as he walked into the room.

Hinata posture immediately grew rigid as she slowly put the book down and watched as he sat down across from her.

"What?" Hajime asked as he looked at her with a sneer. "No greeting for your fiancé?"

"Cousin." She greeted him politely as she looked into his eyes and noticed they still looked poisonous to her. He had always treated her with contempt, being insanely jealous of her position in the main house.

Hajime noted somewhere along the line she had developed a backbone as he noticed how calm she was.

_Too bad she is still so plain_. He thought in disappointment as his eyes raked over her and wondered if the price of power would be worth having to wake up to such an ugly looking wife every day.

His lips twisted in distaste as he watched her look away from him. He hated how weak and pathetic she was. She didn't deserve to be the heir. In his view the whole main branch was nothing but a sham.

_My family is far more deserving_, he thought to himself arrogantly.

"Hajime, why do you want to marry me?" Hinata asked him softly, her eyes were almost compassionate as she looked at him.

"To keep the Hyuuga bloodline pure…" He stated automatically, parroting his father's beliefs. "And to become… master of all of this one day." He told her with a sigh, giving her his own reason for wanting to go through with it.

Hinata shook her head a little sympathetically knowing that his slightly delusional ambition will never be realized. She knew her father maintained iron and absolute control over the clan and would never allow that power to be given to another branch outside of the main family.

"Hanabi will become heiress after I get married." She stated firmly, her eyes were slightly apologetic as she knew she was crushing one of his dreams.

"Heh, we will see about that." He replied tightly as he looked away from her.

Hinata looked at him with a frown on her forehead as she wondered what he meant by _we_. Shaking her head sadly she realized it was probably his father. She had never seen anyone more controlled by their parents than he was.

"Hajime, is it what you want or what your father wants?" She asked him and her eyes watched him closely.

Before he could answer Hanabi came into the room with a smug and cheerful grin on her face, followed by her father.

Hajime stood up and bowed respectfully before the leader of his clan.

"Good morning, Hiashi-sama."

Hinata stayed seated at the table and nodded her head respectfully. However, her voice was far from warm when she greeted him.

"Father."

Hiashi sat down and looked at his eldest daughter with a slightly mocking look in his eyes.

"Good morning, daughter," He responded formally with a cold nod directed toward her.

After they ate breakfast in silence for a while, Hiashi looked at Hajime with benevolent eyes.

"Neji has offered to take you around town this evening to meet other young people. You have my permission to go." He told him with a gracious incline of his head.

Hajime eyes narrowed suspiciously as he glanced at Hanabi and saw he had been outmaneuvered by her. There was no way he could politely refuse Hiashi-sama. He had no choice but to go.

"I would like that Hiashi-sama, however, I would prefer it if Hinata-sama would accompany us tonight." He said respectfully with carefully lowered eyes.

"I-I cannot go, father." Hinata said trying desperately to get out of going out with them. "I am… currently on an assignment from the Hokage."

Neji glared at her. "Surely you can take a few hours break, cousin." He told her meaningfully, his eyes told her he was doing all of this for her.

Hinata sighed, knowing it would be torture to make Neji spend that much time alone with Hajime; she _had_ to go with them.

"Fine, where do you want me to meet you?" She asked Neji in a slightly resigned voice.

"Tenako's Bar at seven." Neji told her flatly with a relieved look on his face before he turned away and left the house.

From her seat in the corner, Hanabi watched the scene unfold in front of her as she calmly took a sip of her tea and almost choked on it when she saw her father was watching her closely with a look of cold amusement on his face.

Looking down at her plate, her mind began to spin, _father what are you up to?_

oooOOOooo

The sun was shining and a slight breeze was keeping the day from becoming too warm. Hinata sat happily next to Itachi under a tree at one of the training grounds and they were both reading. Hinata only had two more chapters to go before she completed the bookwork portion of her course and Itachi was reading through some ANBU policies that had recently been changed (again).

To Hinata, spending time outside with Itachi was nice, comfortable and for some reason she kept getting the creeps, like someone was watching her. Feeling silly, she shook her head ruefully.

"More tea, Itachi?" She asked him automatically as she poured some tea into her cup.

Without even looking up from his document, he reached over and handed her his cup.

"Thank you, Hinata."

Her forehead frowned slightly as she refilled the cup and handed it to him. She just couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched.

For grins, she decided to activate her Byakugan and received a rather large shock. All around them and above them in the trees they were surrounded by about thirty ninjas.

Alarmed, Hinata turned to Itachi with large round eyes.

"Um, Itachi?" She said as she leaned over and whispered to him. "Did you know we are surrounded by about thirty ninjas?"

Shrugging idly, Itachi's eyes looked over his papers at her. "Yes, they are ANBU." He told her impassively.

"ANBU?" She asked him with a perplexed look on her face. "What do they want with us?"

"Not you, just me. I think I have been chosen as this year's target for the initiation challenge." He told her with a slightly irritated look on his face.

He thought of how the tradition states that the target was chosen randomly, but he knew that it was not. The Hokage must have pulled some strings and made sure he was chosen this year. She didn't want him and Hinata to win the bet he had with her. Choosing him was meant to be a distraction and disrupt their studies. Not only that, he figured this group must be pretty pathetic and Ibiki wanted him to help weed out all of the losers.

Hinata looked around her a little nervously unsure of what he wanted her to do to help him.

"Do you need me to do anything to… help you?" She asked him worriedly as she tried to remain calm.

Unperturbed, he turned to her with coolly composed eyes as he set his papers down. "No, I don't need your help." He told her before taking a sip of his tea. "However, I think this will give you an opportunity to obtain some practical healing experience."

"Um, okay." She told him as she flashed a small grin at him, impressed at how he always seemed to make the most of every situation. "I will do my best."

Looking up, Hinata's jaw dropped as she watched ninjas literally drop out of the sky all around them. Closing her mouth she watched in amazement as Itachi jumped to his feet and began systematically bring order into the chaos that surrounded them.

Most of the ninjas attacking him had never seen him in action; they were completely stunned and overwhelmed as he seemed to be everywhere, all at once. The Uchiha moved so fast, it seemed as if it all happened in to them in slow motion.

As Hinata watched him in action, she immediately felt herself go into fan-girl mode as she took in the stunning elegance and precision of his blindingly fast movements. She noted there was absolutely no hesitation in him regarding any attack he made. It was as if he made assessments regarding his opponents in the same amount of time it took him to act, which was barely any time at all.

To her, his defense was flawless and seemingly impenetrable, but his offense was nothing short of brilliant. He seemed to be invulnerable, as the majority of the ANBU recruits lay in various piles around them in a very short time.

In her mind, she determined that it could have been a hundred ninjas attacking him all at once, and the end the results would have been the same, just the piles of defeated ninjas would have been much larger.

Coming out from behind some bushes she watched as two of Shino's younger clansmen stood about twenty feet from Itachi.

The older of the two nodded toward him respectfully.

"Uchiha-san, our task is to verify the shape of a certain scar on your person. Would you mind telling us what shape it is?"

Hinata had been around Shino long enough to suspect that this was only a diversionary tactic for his clansmen. Her suspicions were soon found out when she spotted two kikai bugs on Itachi's back, they were heading silently downward toward his pants.

"No, I will not tell you…" Itachi began and glanced over beside him when he felt Hinata come up behind him and swat the bugs off of him. He noted somewhat predictably that she didn't kill the bugs and watched as they flew back to their host.

He looked over at the ninjas with growing respect at their tactics. ANBU could always use ninjas who thought their actions through before attacking blindly. Also, he noted uncomfortably that they might have gotten away with it, if Hinata had not been with him.

"However, I will send my recommendations to Ibiki that you be promoted and assigned to a team immediately. You may report to him now." Itachi told them in dismissal.

As Hinata watched them walk away, she smiled fondly at them as they reminded her of Shino in the unsmiling way they accepted their promotion.

"Thank you Hinata." Itachi told her as he turned to her, his eyes had a glimmer of respect for her catching on to their ruse.

It would have been enormously embarrassing for him to have been defeated by such a simple tactic.

Hinata blushed modestly, "Well, it was nothing… my team-mate, Aburame Shino, is always tagging people with his kikai bugs and they relay information back to him."

"Come here for a moment." He told her warmly with half-lidded eyes.

Slightly breathless, Hinata blindly went over to him and stood just before him. All around them were piles of moaning ninjas; a lot of them were still unconscious.

Reaching towards her slowly he brushed his thumb just below her nose and wiped away a smidge of blood. His eyes had a knowing look in them as he looked down at her.

"Oh." Hinata gasped as warmth began to rush over her face. "I…I…," she stammered out before he calmly stopped her and pointed to one of the piles of ninjas.

"I want you to begin assessing their injuries and diagnose them to me. Then you may begin healing and treating them." He told her slipping back into sensei mode again with her. His responsibilities as her tutor and an ANBU target required him to stay focused.

Feeling slightly off-balanced, Hinata nodded with a sigh and her eyes reluctantly became focused as she began helping him to lift off unconscious ninjas from the pile of injured.

After they had laid some of the injured out in a row, she began assessing them. Looking at the first one she saw it was easy to figure out what was wrong with him as he had a kunai sticking out of his shoulder.

As she pulled out the kunai knife out of the wound she placed some gauze over it and used her Byakugan to assess how deep it was.

It was about two inches deep.

Looking over at Itachi she saw he was waking up some of the ninjas he had knocked out and after assessing them he began sending them to the hospital in teams of two.

A small grin formed on her face when she noticed he had only injured enough for her to practice on all with different types of injuries too. All of the rest of them he had disabled them by knocking them unconscious.

Hinata quickly began applying healing chakra to the wound. After a while of constantly focusing on binding the wound together to keep it from bleeding, she began to sweat and feel overly warm as she felt the sun beat down on her.

Standing up, she unzipped her jacket and laid it next to her text book before kneeling down and finishing healing the wounded ninja.

"Itachi, I am done with this one." She told him when she was finished a few minutes later and stood up looking over toward the next injured ninja.

Still in the process of waking up and sending away the last of the uninjured ninjas, Itachi turned around and watched her stand up near him and felt as if he had just sustained a body blow to the stomach as he stared at her.

Swallowing slightly, he watched her walk toward him wearing only a tight black tank top and black pants. Her ever-present lilac-colored jacket was nowhere to be found.

Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. Itachi began to wish she would put her jacket back on.

Blissfully unaware of the affect her jacketless body was having on him, Hinata kneeled down next to him and began examining injured ninjas he had lined up for her.

Using her medical training along with her Byakugan, Hinata began checking the ninjas over for injuries.

"Broken arm." She said as she noted the obvious deformity of the ninja's arm.

Moving on to the next one, she noted swelling around his forehead.

"Possible concussion."

She kept going down the line and Itachi was pleased to note she was correct on all of them, until she came to the last of the injured.

"Multiple bruises and contusions." Hinata named off a little relieved that she had done it all correctly and looked at him.

"Look closer," Itachi prodded her as he kneeled next to her.

Hinata frowned in concentration as she scanned the ninja again and then she saw the slight distension of the pinky finger on his right hand.

"And a fractured finger." She added with a small smile as she turned to him. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw he was staring at her chest.

Instinctively her arm moved across her chest to cover herself and she looked uncomfortably away from him.

Feeling almost like some sort of perve, Itachi looked away from her and mentally castigated himself for behaving disrespectfully towards her.

"Forgive me, my behavior was inappropriate." He told her politely as he looked at her.

Hinata blushed and was about to respond when a couple of ninja's appeared out of nowhere and pulled her back several feet and pressed a kunai to her throat.

"Tell us the shape of the scar Itachi-san and we will let her go." The eldest of the group of three said to Itachi with false bravado as the other two surrounding Hinata nodded blindly in agreement.

Itachi looked at all of them and his narrowed eyes told them they had just made a colossal mistake. It was one thing to attack him, but when they touched her, they just sealed their fate. He had been planning to go easy on them, but now…

Just before he was going to put them through the genjutsu hell of their lives another large group of ninjas came out of nowhere. A small grin formed on Itachi's face when he recognized the action against Hinata was probably just a diversion.

At least someone was using their head instead of just attacking blindly, he thought hoping this group was not as pathetic as the last group was.

"Ouch," the ninja holding Hinata suddenly screamed after she had blocked the chakra point on his wrist and he dropped the knife.

Hinata immediately broke free and entered the fight along-side Itachi.

Out of the corner of his eye, Itachi watched her blue black hair flying around as she performed her family's Jyuuken with carefully controlled accuracy as she disabled the ninjas around her by blocking their chakra points. He thought she looked amazingly…

Sidestepping another pathetic attack from a ninja attempting to stab him with a kunai knife, Itachi took his eyes off her her and felt his mouth began to tighten as he surveyed the ninjas all around him.

And shook his head in disgust.

They were even worse than the group that had attacked them the first time. They were so disorganized, that he was beginning to think that the attempt against Hinata hadn't been planned at all, but was just dumb luck on their part.

Looking over towards Hinata, he noted she was watching him as she easily blocked another feeble attempt against her. Catching her eye he signaled to her to follow his lead.

Hinata nodded back at him with an almost imperceptible nod and twirling around and jumping over two ninjas she watched Itachi as he did the same and created a bunshin while she was in the air and quickly landed up in the trees next to him.

"Um, they seem to be kind of weak." Hinata said in puzzlement as she looked down and watched as the few ninjas that were left didn't even recognize they weren't fighting them anymore. Almost comically a few of them ran into each other like keystone cops.

Itachi's lips grew tight as he glared them. "I know, I am going to fail all of them." He told her as he formed his hands together to make his bunshin explode. "They will only get killed if they are allowed to become ANBU."

Only one ninja down there noticed it was not him and Itachi recognized him as one of his relatives.

"Move away from him, it is going to explode!" Uchiha Kaito warned the others just before Itachi blew it up.

They all jumped clear of the lethal bunshin and landed in the bushes around them when it exploded.

After the dust had settled, Itachi called down to the group of ninjas that were still conscious.

Knowing they have all failed miserably, they all looked at him before lowering their heads in shame.

"I cannot promote any of you to become ANBU, return to Headquarters and turn in your gear." He told them without even a trace of an apology or sympathy in his voice. In his eyes he knew he was doing the right thing, they simply were not ready for the promotion.

As they all turned silently to leave, Itachi called out to his relative.

"Uchiha Kaito, because you saw what the others didn't and kept them alive, I will recommend you be promoted into ANBU, go report to Moreno Ibiki immediately."

Kaito looked up at his idol with almost awestruck eyes as he bowed before him in respect. "Arigato Itachi-sama, I will report to him immediately."

After they had all left, Hinata looked around with her Byakugan and yelped when she found herself hauled into his arms. Looking up she saw he was looking down at her with black eyes that glittered dangerously with… (she swallowed nervously)

Desire.

Her eyes opened wide and a gasp escaped her mouth when she saw another emotion in them.

Love.

Elated, Hinata wanted to hug herself with joy as he pulled her hand up to his mouth and turned it over and kissed almost sensually the throbbing pulse on the base of her wrist.

"I've never watched you fight before…" He whispered to her with a slightly warm grin on his face. Reaching out and tracing a line across her cheek his eyes slid over her languidly. "I thought you were…"

Laughing self-depreciatingly, Hinata cut him off, knowing that she was nowhere as good at her family's jyuken as Neji or even her sister was.

"I know, I am only just…proficient at Jyuken." She told him quietly giving him her honest assessment of her abilities.

Itachi put his hands around her head as he shook his head in disagreement with her opinion of herself. His eyes were firm as they looked at her.

"That's not how I would describe your abilities." He told her as a brief smile unconsciously touched his lips. He pulled her closer and whispered against her cheek. "I thought your execution was excellent, your judgment and technique were sound."

At his words, Hinata's confidence began to soar as she knew he never gave out praise lightly. She looked up into his face and saw a brief look in his eyes that should only be given... inside of a bedroom.

"I-Itachi?" She stammered out feeling confused and suddenly more than a little hot, her face began to suddenly grow warm.

As Itachi's eyes drifted over her face, he decided he had waited long enough to ask her.

"Hinata, will you marry me?"

**

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the cliffie, but I had to split this chapter in two. A large part of the next one is completed already and I hope to be able to post it within a few days, hopefully sooner if I don't have any writer's block lol… It will contain the (mental shudder) bar scene and something that is a little terrifying…and a little crackish.

Thanks again to all of you for continuing to read this convoluted story, I promise you I will be able to tie it all up satisfactorily at the end. This chapter will be useful for the sequel I am planning in the future.

**Manga Spoiler:** I think Madara is scraping the bottom of the barrel by joining with Kabuto. Palease, what a loser! It saddens me greatly to see Itachi and some of the others are under his control. However, I did like the part with Kisame infiltrating the Cloud's meeting by hiding inside of Samehada (pretty brilliant strategy imo). Killer Bee writing songs during the meeting was also kind of funny. I really like him, he cracks me up.


	17. Chapter 17

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 17~**

* * *

**Warning: some scenes contain pure silliness. I am apologizing in advance. **

* * *

Stunned silence met his question as she looked at him and felt herself becoming suddenly wobbly. Feeling overwhelmed and a little low on chakra, Hinata's eyes began to roll back in her head.

"Hinata." Itachi said firmly as he pulled her tightly against him and forced her to remain conscious. "Stay with me."

Her eyes fluttered open and softened as she looked up at him and felt herself melt against him at the concern she saw in his eyes. A small smile formed on her lips when she saw his eyes were already beginning to search hers again for an answer.

"Oh Itachi," She said her voice broke as she reached up and touched the side of his face, too overcome with swirling emotions to do anything else.

"Well…?" Itachi asked her again in a low voice, his eyes were unnervingly intent as they continued to search hers. His hands moved slowly and possessively around her, letting her know he wasn't going to let her go anywhere until she gave him an answer.

Hinata was moved almost to tears when she felt his hand slide over the palm of her hand before twining it intimately with hers. As she gazed hesitantly up at him, a look of tenderness flashed over his onyx eyes, causing her to stare up in wonder at him.

"Itachi?" She asked him with eyes still full of self-doubt that someone like _him_ could actually want to marry _her_. "Are you sure you… want me?"

"Yes." He stated without any hesitation his eyes were almost solemn, "I believe my intentions have always been clear to you."

Hinata blushed and momentarily closed her eyes as she admitted to herself what he said to her was true, he had never tried to hide that he cared for her and wanted her. Almost from the very beginning of their relationship, his smile and the way he would sometimes look at her told her everything she needed to know about his feelings toward her.

But something deep within her longed to hear him say it to her, at least once.

Looking up at him with beseeching eyes, her eyes told him what she needed to hear.

Instinctively recoiling from actually having to say the words out loud, Itachi looked away from her a little uncomfortably. A stray thought of amusement passed through his mind as he had known all along she wasn't going to let him get away with not saying it to her.

"I love you."

At hearing those words from him in his unemotional voice, Hinata pitched herself onto him and flung her arms around his neck with a half squeal, half laugh.

Itachi steadied both of them as her momentum had almost knocked them both out of the tree. His eyes were warm as he looked down at her radiant face tipped up toward his. Lowering his face closer toward hers, his eyes searched hers again and he took a relieved breath when he saw her reply in them.

"Yes Itachi, I will marry you." She replied quietly before an irrepressible sigh escaped her as he closed the gap between their mouths covering her mouth fervently with his own.

As Hinata kissed him back and wrapped her arms tightly around him, pure happiness began to spread through her until it was so intense she almost ached from it.

After he lifted his mouth off of hers, Hinata smiled back at him with a little more confidence. His kiss had left her no doubt as to his feelings for her.

"Um Itachi?" She said feeling brave enough to tease him a little, "Does this mean I get to decorate your house now?"

Itachi's eyes wandered over her face, liking what he was seeing as he noticed she was becoming more confident and less shy with him.

"Yes," he responded a little wryly as she had guessed correctly the conditions of his coded offer. "Except, it won't be _my_ house any longer, but _ours_."

Hinata sighed contentedly as she leaned her head against his chest and tightened her arms around his waist before repeating the word in a quiet voice.

"Ours."

A soft smile tugged the corners of her mouth as she liked the sound of that.

oooOOOooo

Itachi lifted his mouth off of hers and looked down at her tenderly. Her hair was a mess from him running his hands through it and her lips were swollen from all of the kisses they had shared.

Hinata's breathing was a little ragged as she opened her eyes and looked up at him with a slightly dazed smile.

A blush slid up her face when she noticed he was watching her.

"Hinata, we need to stop." He told her firmly, his eyes were slightly regretful as his hands slid over her shoulders.

She sighed, "I know, we still have a lot of work to do before my test in two days."

Backing away from her, Itachi decided it would best if they put some distance each other. His eyes were detached and firm as he looked at her.

"We still need to heal the rest of the ninja on the ground and then I want to go over some more bookwork with you." He explained to her brusquely, clearly transitioning them back into teacher and student once more.

Hinata bit back a smile as she saw what he was doing and began to miss the sweetness of the moment she had just shared with him already. Still elated at the thought of marrying him, she knew she needed to come back to earth and deal with the problems at hand, namely Hajime and completing this course.

She knew once Itachi had become involved by tutoring her, failure was no longer an option. The thought of disappointing him made her stomach twist into tight knots. She was not going to allow it to happen.

Watching as he jumped down from the tree, Hinata briskly tied her hair back out of her face and followed behind him to get back to work.

oooOOOooo

"Come on, spill it." Mikoto cajoled her eldest son as they walked to the bar together.

"No." Itachi stated bluntly as he turned toward his brother with a pained look.

Equal parts annoyance and determination flashed in her eyes as she looked up at him.

"I can tell by your face something happened to you today." She observed shrewdly as she looked at him with a knowing smile.

Itachi ignored her by looking pointedly away from her.

"Hmm, I don't know--you seem different." She pondered softly out loud as her brows furrowed as she tried to figure it all of the possible things that could have happened to him recently.

As they continued to walk through town, she looked him over and a slow suspicious smile touched her mouth.

"I got it." Mikoto began with naughty stare and laugh as she wagged her finger at him playfully. "You and Hinata slept together."

Itachi looked upwards toward the sky beginning to get annoyed with her before he glared oppressively at her. "No mother, I would not disrespect her like that."

Mikoto rolled her eyes glumly accepting what he said was true, her honorable, stick in the mud, son, wouldn't do such a thing. Knowing Hinata, she probably wouldn't either. The two of them were as honorable as the day was long, so the saying went.

"Well, you can't blame me for thinking that, you know." She said with a slightly defensive pout. "I mean, the _way_ you guys look at each other, it's like… whoa!"

Turning to Sasuke, her eyes implored him to agree with her. A smirk came over his face as he looked over at his brother as he definitely agreed with her.

"She's got a point Itachi." He added with dryly as he glanced over at his big brother.

"I don't want to discuss this anymore." Itachi snapped with a hard look directed at her, already reaching his limit with her meddling with him and Hinata.

Mikoto's face began to crumple as she stifled back a sob.

"I'm sorry son, (sob) it's just you and Hinata remind me of the way your father and I used to… look at each other." She said tearfully before putting her face in her hands and beginning to weep softly.

Sasuke lips tightened in annoyance at his absent father and was glad he had prepared for this situation as he reached into his pocket. Catching his brother's eye, he glared at him for upsetting their mother.

Itachi was a little shocked to see her so emotional, he was used to fake tears from her but he could tell these tears were real.

"I'm sorry mother." He apologized as he patted her stiffly on the back. His attempt to comfort her only made Mikoto cry more.

Sasuke pulled out a tissue that he had stuffed in his pocket from the ANBU meeting earlier and a chocolate bar he had been keeping for emergencies with her.

Grateful to Sasuke for his watching over her, Mikoto took both items from him and began wiping her tears and blew her nose. After opening the candy bar and taking a huge bite of it she began to feel a little calmer.

Looking over at both of her boys apologetically, she gave them a wobbly smile. "I'm sorry, it's just your father has never held out against me for so long,… I thought he would have caved in by now."

Itachi and Sasuke looked at her with identical knowing looks. They both knew their father was completely wrapped around their beautiful mother's little finger and it was only a matter of time before he gave into her.

"Mother, I saw the bird house in front of your house, it is just a matter of time before he…"

Sasuke was cut off as several ninjas surrounded them and tried to pull Itachi's pants down. Before the female of the group could reach for his pants, Itachi appeared behind her and quickly disabled her.

Amused laughter began to bubble up in Mikoto as she watched her eldest son disable five ninjas in about thirty seconds.

"Why are they trying to take his pants down?" She asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Itachi has been chosen as this year's ANBU target." Her youngest replied in a bored sounding voice.

His mother's eyes opened wide as a horrified thought hit her.

"Oh no…" Mikoto choked out as shocked before guilty laughter burst out of her.

"What did you do, mother?" Itachi asked her in a voice that was bordering on being frosty.

"Well…" She said as she bit her lip slightly to keep from laughing. "I'm afraid I am the one who leaked the information about… your scar to the Hokage."

Emitting a long suffering sigh, Itachi kicked out behind him as another ninja attempted to sneak up behind him and depants him.

"Whatever." He told her impassively as he began striding toward the bar. "I already know why she chose me this year, so it doesn't matter."

"Well that's good." She said feeling a little better. "That wretch, I am going to have a little talk to her when I see her again." Mikoto muttered threatening as the thought of how _her friend_ wheedled information out of her when she was drinking with her the other day.

Itachi stopped in front of the bar as he took a second glance at the young woman in front of the building.

"What is she doing here?" Itachi asked his mother with an annoyed look in his eyes as he saw Hinata's younger sister sitting on a bench waiting for them. She had transformed herself and looked to be at least twenty one.

Mikoto moved closer to Hanabi and put a protective arm around her.

"She is coming with us; she wants to keep an eye on that obnoxious cousin of hers." His mother whispered to him with a feisty look on her face, daring him to tell her no.

"Besides Itachi, I am the one who set all this up tonight," Hanabi added with a smug smile. "There is no way I am going to miss it."

The implacable look on Itachi's face told them he still didn't like the idea.

"Oh darling, don't worry about it, I will look after her." Mikoto promised him airily as she quickly dragged Hanabi into the bar with her.

Itachi and Sasuke shared an uncomfortable glance as they both realized that having their mother keep an eye on her was about as good an idea as setting a box of explosives next to a camp fire.

oooOOOooo

Tapping his fingers repeatedly with increasing firmness, Hajime's mouth became tight and sullen as he glanced over at the people sitting on either side of him at the bar.

"Do either one of you even know how to talk?" He complained, feeling their silence was bordering on the ridiculous.

Neji looked at him with one eyebrow raised and pretty much told him to leave him the hell alone--or else. Turning toward Hinata, he saw she was completely distracted as her eyes kept darting toward the door as if she was expecting someone to come through it any minute.

"_Damn_ you people are boring." He whined again trying to get a reaction out of one of them. "I mean, dead people have more personality than the two of you do."

At hearing his annoying voice, Hinata turned away from staring at the door and looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry Hajime, did you say something?"

He wasn't paying attention to her as his eyes were staring at the girl who just walked through the door. She had long brown hair with soft brown eyes and he thought even with those defects she was still pretty decent looking.

A definite improvement over his boring as death family members, he concluded arrogantly.

Hinata glanced over at her with a relieved smile on her face.

"Tenten," She said as she beckoned her friend over with a wave. "We're over here."

"Oh hi, Hinata," Tenten replied with a smile as she greeted her friend as she began to walk over. "Hey Neji, sorry I am late. It took me forever to take my buns out and comb through my hair."

"I think you look um, really good." Hinata told her as her eyes drifted over her with admiration.

A ragged sigh was heard next to her as Hajime stood next to her with his arms crossed and was tapping his foot hard against the floor.

"Hinata, do you think you could trouble yourself to introduce me to your friend?" He said as he shook his head in disgust at her lack of manners.

Hinata gave Tenten a long suffering look, before rectifying her so called bad manners by introducing her to her cousin.

"Tenten…this is my distant cousin, Hajime."

"Actually, I am her fiancé." He told her with an attempt at a charming smile as he bowed politely before her. "I am pleased to meet you, Tenten."

Tenten's mouth was tight as she looked him over dismissively. "I feel sorry for you, Hinata if you have to marry someone like him." She said as she turned toward her friend and completely ignored Hajime.

"Ha ha ha," Hajime laughed trying to be sophisticated. "You are not only stuck up but think of yourself as a comedian as well, very funny."

Tenten's eyes opened wide with outrage. "Stuck up!" She hissed.

"Stuck up?...Oh, that's it!" Tenten said as she put her hands on her hips.

_What an idiot._ Neji thought grimly amused as he turned toward the bar and calmly ordered a drink.

Hajime's eyes grew huge as he watched her summon a very long and sharp looking dagger; Hajime began to laugh with forced amusement as beads of sweat rolled off of his forehead.

_Damn, she is scary_. His mind raced as he realized he had miscalculated badly.

"I was only joking, man you people are touchy around here." He complained as he began to back away from her with mincing steps.

Hinata stepped between him and Tenten with pleading eyes toward her friend.

"Tenten, he's not worth it." She said sadly as she steered her still irate friend into the bathroom.

"He is such a jerk!" Tenten raged as she zinged a shuriken across the room.

Hinata looked at her with eyes that pleaded with her to calm down. "I know he is, but he is still family and a guest in my home. I have no choice but to deal with him."

"I think you should poison his food or something." Tenten said beginning to calm down as she recognized Hinata's plight.

Hinata began to giggle, "Hanabi drugged his food last night and found out he likes blondes with blue eyes."

Tenten smothered a laugh as one person immediately came to her mind.

"Ino." She breathed out.

Hinata nodded and began to feel sorry for Ino, for what they were going to ask her to do for them.

Hanabi (in disguise) and Mikoto came into the bathroom.

"Ino has agreed to help us tonight." Her sister said nonchalantly. "We had to bribe her with a ton of cash."

"And a date with Sasuke." Mikoto added with a guilty laugh as she still hadn't told him that she was using him as part of the bribe.

Hanabi circled them around her and told them the plan. Even though she was the youngest, she was clearly in charge.

"Ino is absolutely perfect for the job," she said enthusiastically. "She has agreed to use her Shintenshin no Jutsu to get into his mind and dig up some dirt for us."

"Oh god," Tenten said sickened by the thought of entering that pestilent mind. "Poor Ino, I hope you are paying her a lot."

"Naw, Ino says she will do that part for free—she thinks that will be the fun part." Hanabi told her as she shared an amused glance with Mikoto.

Hinata and Tenten looked at each other in horror before everyone burst out laughing.

After they discussed a few more details, they all headed back out to the bar…

oooOOOooo

"What?" Hajime spluttered out in outraged offense after Neji pointed out (trying to actually help him) that messing with his team-mate was not the wisest course of action. "Are you telling _me_ I don't know how to treat women?"

"Yes." Neji responded bluntly.

Hajime's lips grew tight as he stood up highly indignant. "Back home, the women _love me_. I can have any woman I want."

Neji snorted inelegantly in disbelief.

"I'll prove it to you." Hajime said as he eyed a cute blonde walking by.

"Hi beautiful." He said suavely as he flashed his dimples.

The blonde looked him over dismissively before her eyes glanced over at the booth in the corner with heated interest at the Uchiha brothers.

"Not interested." She said coldly before walking away.

Neji couldn't resist the urge to pile on, "That was impressive."

Hajime wasn't listening, instead he was staring with narrowed eyes at the booth in the corner and his mouth was drawn into a tight sneer.

Sasuke and Itachi were sitting alone in a booth as a long line of girls took turns asking them to dance before getting bluntly dismissed.

"God, I hate those Uchiha brothers,… they are such jerks." He said with a poisonous glance in their direction.

A malicious smile formed on his mouth as he saw Hinata coming out of the bathroom. As she walked up to him, he put his arm around her like a snake trapping its prey and attempted to lead her out to the dance floor.

"Come dance with me, Hinata." He demanded in a snide whisper as he glanced over in the direction of the booth in the corner to see if the Uchiha had noticed and was shocked to see the booth was empty.

"Touch her again and you will die." A coldly unemotional voice behind him threatened as Hinata moved away from him.

"Itachi, please." Hinata implored him with big eyes to let her deal with him.

"Saito-Hyuuga-san" Mikoto said stepping in between all of them with a charming smile pasted on her face. "I met your mother years ago, how is she, dear?"

Moving away from Itachi with relief he looked at her as if she was an angel of mercy. "I'm afraid she is no longer with us, Uchiha-sama." He told her with a small shrug of his shoulders like it was no big deal. "Father got tired of her nagging and had her eliminated about a year ago, he remarried a few months later."

Horrified silence met his statement as Mikoto stepped protectively in front of Hinata. Her mouth grew tight and her eyes narrowed as she thought there was no way in hell she was going to let her sweet little Hinata marry into a family like that.

"Uh, nice father you have." She responded insincerely in an attempted light tone as she quelled her desire to gut him right there in the middle of the dance floor.

Oblivious to her subtle sarcasm, Hajime agreed with her. "Arigato Uchiha-sama, he is an excellent father."

Tenten deciding to be noble, decided to step in before things got worse.

"Would you like to dance with me, Hajime?" She said politely as she swallowed the urge to vomit.

Hajime eyed her warily and the Uchiha who was still glaring at him, he determined she was the lesser of two evils.

"Uh, thanks Tenten, I would like that." He said stiffly as he followed her to another section of the dance floor.

The room suddenly went dark as someone turned out the lights.

Screams of outrage abounded throughout the bar as several ANBU initiates began pulling down pants randomly trying to see Itachi's scar.

"I got him, where's the flash light?" One of the ninja's yelled out excitedly.

"Uh, I don't have it; I thought you were supposed to bring it?" The other one responded anxiously.

"Damn it, I don't have it either." A third one yelled in frustration.

Itachi turned the lights on as he stared at all of them with hard black eyes, he thought this group was by far the most pathetic out of all of them.

"The ability to prepare adequately for a mission is a requirement for ANBU; it is obvious that all of you need to work on that skill. Return to headquarters and turn in your gear."

They lowered their heads and left the bar in failure.

The Dee Jay put on a slow song and couples began filling up the dance floor.

"This is for all you lovers out there….yeah, you know who you are." He said smoothly into the microphone.

Sitting next to Neji at the bar, Hinata took a sip of her drink, and tried to keep her eyes from glancing over to the corner booth where he was sitting with his brother.

"Dance with me, Hinata." She heard Itachi's voice say behind her.

Hinata's heart beat with quiet joy as she stood up and held out her hand to him. His hand enclosed around hers and he pulled her towards him.

Not willing to trust her voice in public, afraid people around her would hear just how much she loved him, she followed him silently out to the dance floor.

As she felt his arms go around her, she closed her eyes and began to sway gently back and forth with him to the music. Leaning her head against his chest she gasped out in shock when she felt him slip something over her finger.

A few tears slipped down her face as she looked at the lovely princess cut diamond ring that seemed to fit her hand perfectly.

After staring at the ring for almost an eternity, she looked up at him with eyes that shone with unshed tears; Itachi's eyes were gentle as he pulled her closer to him.

"Oh Itachi." She choked out trying to hold back tears.

The lights suddenly went out again.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and under her hands felt Itachi tense up as if he was preparing for an attack or in this case a depantsing.

All around the room people began to either make out on the dance floor or complain drunkenly for someone to turn the freaking lights on.

Instead, Itachi used the diversion to drag Hinata to a back room so she could thank him for the ring a little more eloquently in private.

Up at the front of the bar, Sakura and Ino flipped the lights back on and stood posing in the doorway.

"I need to go first Forehead; I need to be visible to my target so he will fall in love with me." Ino said a little smugly, knowing that Sakura was upset because they didn't ask her to do the job.

"Fine, while you dance with Hinata's cousin, I will just have to dance with Sasuke." Sakura replied trying to make Ino feel jealous.

Ino's fist tightened menacingly. "The hell you will, he is mine."

"Not tonight he isn't, have fun, Ino-chan." Sakura said with a taunting smile as she headed for Sasuke's table.

Ino stamped her foot and her blue eyes flashed dangerously as she glanced around the room and found her target sitting next to Neji.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw he was staring at her as though mesmerized.

_Maybe this won't be so bad after all._ She told herself as she flashed him a dazzling smile as she began to saunter his way.

Tenten nudged Neji when she saw Ino heading their way.

"It's about time; she was supposed to be here an hour ago." He complained as he looked at his watch.

Tenten looked at Hajime and noted that Ino was an extremely quick worker and realized that her and Neji would only get in there way if they stayed there.

"Neji come dance with me," She said with an urgent voice as she glanced meaningfully towards Ino and Hajime.

Sighing reluctantly, Neji stood up and followed her onto the dance floor.

Standing before him in all her blue spandex glory, Ino waited for him to speak to her and watched as he stood up a little hesitantly before her.

"I- I…I" Hajime stuttered out in front of her still unable to speak in the presence of such loveliness.

Ino thought he was cute and pulled him out on the dance floor.

"I'm Ino, I am assuming by your eyes you are a Hyuuga right?" She asked him with a bright smile.

Hajime nodded stupidly and took a deep breath as he tried to pull himself together. He was just stunned; it was as if he had met his ideal woman in the flesh. She was by far the most beautiful person he had ever met.

"You are so beautiful." He breathed out with worshipful eyes that drank in the sight of her.

"Uh, I know." Ino said as she flipped her hair behind her. "Thanks though, you are _so sweet_."

Hajime continued to stare at her with lovesick eyes and Ino began to get a little tired of it.

"Hyuuga-san," She began, but he stopped her by shaking his head.

"Call me Hajime," he told her as he nervously put his arms around her and began dancing with her.

"Okay Hajime," Ino said in a sultry voice. "Do you want to get to know me better?"

His eyes grew large and heated as he nodded his head emphatically.

Yawning delicately behind her hand, Ino was beginning to grow a little bored at how easy it was. She had been hoping he would at least be somewhat of a challenge.

Shrugging her shoulders, she looked deeply into his eyes and rapidly formed the hand-signs for her family's mind transfer jutsu.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu," She whispered and a few moments later they both dropped to their knees. Rapidly she began to sift through his mind and felt herself become increasingly disturbed. He was just so strange and he and his father were planning some kind of coup against Hinata's father.

Her body began to grow warm and sweat formed over her upper lip.

_Oh no, it can't be?…No way…oh my god, it is?_ Ino's mind screamed.

Still collapsed on her knees, Ino watched as he awoke in confusion.

Standing up shakily, Ino helped him up and she dragged him over to the corner with her.

"Hajime, your mind is so sick." She accused him with heated eyes. "And twisted." Her body pressed his against the wall.

"It is?" He asked her in confusion, he hoped it was a good thing in her mind.

"I like tea too--very, very hot tea." She told him as her face moved closer toward his.

Hajime swallowed as he looked down at her. "You do?" He asked and his voice cracked slightly.

"Yes, with lemon..." She told him as her finger ran down his chest. "And sugar…"

Hajime closed his eyes as she leaned even closer to him.

"Let's go drink some now." She told him urgently.

"Now?" He repeated with a dazed smile.

Ino's eyes were wide and her face was growing flushed, "Yes, now."

Grabbing his hand roughly, she pulled him through the bar and they ran out the front door.

In the corner, Mikoto and Hanabi high fived each other and broke out in stunned laughter.

"Damn, she is good." Mikoto said with amused appreciation.

"Uh guys, I don't think she was acting." Tenten said dryly as she came over to their table.

Hanabi grimaced and felt her insides churn. "Eww, gross." She said before holding her stomach and running toward the bathroom.

Mikoto scooted over so she could join them. "It will still work out; there is an infidelity clause in the contract after all."

"I like my solution better." Sasuke stated blandly.

"What is your solution?" Tenten asked him curiously.

"Eliminate him."

Tenten grinned fiercely, "I agree your idea is better, except if it was up to me, I would gut him and throw his body out in the woods for the animals to feed on."

Sasuke nodded firmly and found himself reluctantly impressed.

"Sasuke, do you want to dance with me?" Sakura said breathlessly as she suddenly stood before the table.

Before he could reject her in the coldest way possible, his mother spoke up for him.

"I'm sorry dear; he was just about to dance with Tenten." Mikoto said with a sly grin directed at her now irritated son.

Sakura shot a stunned look at Tenten before striding over toward the bar.

"Mother." Sasuke warned in a low voice, his eyes sent her a clear message not to mess with him.

Tenten looked back and forth from Mikoto to Sasuke and decided she should leave. The undercurrents at the table were beginning to make her feel very uncomfortable.

"It's alright Sasuke, you don't have to dance with me,… I think I am going to go now." She told him as she scooted over and began to stand up from the booth.

A small smile grew on Mikoto's face as she watched her son get up from the table and silently reach out his hand to her.

Surprised, Tenten reached out and placed her hand in his and followed him out to the dance floor.

_What am I doing?_ She asked herself as she felt like one of his trampy fan-girls. Looking up she saw Neji was watching her with an unreadable expression on his face before he turned away from her.

oooOOOooo

Hinata sat on his lap in the center of the papasan chair at his house with her text book in front of her, Itachi was resting with his head leaned back against the chair. Her eyes roamed over his face as a lock of his hair hung over his eyes.

_Ah, he looks so peaceful when he sleeps_.

"Get back to work, Hinata." He told her without even opening his eyes.

Hinata sighed and reluctantly went back to reading.

"Itachi?" She asked him after awhile.

"Yes?"

"Now that the ANBU challenge is over, do you think I could see your scar?"

"It's no big deal." He told her tiredly.

Hinata smiled stubbornly, "Can you at least tell me how you got it?"

Itachi looked away a little uncomfortably before rolling his eyes in self disgust.

"I was about ten years old and I was helping Sasuke with his kunai practice and I turned away from him for just a second and he accidently hit me." He said with a look on his face that showed he was still disgusted about it. "I didn't want to admit to anyone I was injured in such a stupid way and it ended up becoming infected."

He looked so annoyed; she couldn't stop herself from giggling.

"That must have hurt." She said trying to be sympathetic, but still couldn't hold back a grin.

"It did, but it was my pride more than anything." He admitted to her.

Hinata wasn't laughing anymore as she looked at him. "So what happened next?" She asked fascinated that he was opening up to her.

"My mother noticed I was walking around in pain and forced me to see a healer, but by that time it couldn't be fully healed and a scar remained."

Blushing a little, she looked at him.

"Um, I have ointment at home that might be able to heal it." Hinata told him as she looked away from him with a small smile.

Itachi sighed and gave her a knowing look.

"What?" Hinata asked with a grin.

"Get up."

"Why?"

"So I can show you." He told her flatly, wanting to get it over with.

"Um, you don't have to… if you don't want to." She replied hesitantly.

Itachi raised his eyebrow.

Hinata bit back a smile as she removed herself from his lap.

Itachi stood up and without saying anything turned away from her and pulled the back of his pants down.

Hinata giggled as she saw plain as day, the shape of a crescent moon about an inch long on his backside.

Itachi quickly pulled his pants up.

"Aw, it's not that bad." She said soothingly with a small laugh. "It's kind of…cute."

Wanting to end the discussion as quickly and efficiently as possible, Itachi pulled her against him and kissed her.

**Author's Note:** A lot of you didn't like the cliffie I left you with on the previous chapter, so I tried not to do it again. Just two more chapters to go and maybe an epilogue at the end. I will be leaving on vacation to Las Vegas (Yay me!) on Tuesday for a few days so I probably won't be able to update for at least a week.

Thank you all so much, it has been a fun experience writing this story, I am so grateful so many of you took the time to let me know how you feel about it. I am sorry it is going to end soon…


	18. Chapter 18

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 18~**

* * *

**[2 days later, Konoha Hospital, Administrator's office…]**

Taking a deep calming breath to settle her nerves, Hinata lifted up a shaky hand and knocked on the door.

"Enter." She heard the Hokage's voice say through the door.

Lifting her eyes heavenward as if in silent prayer, Hinata opened the door knowing today was her day of reckoning. All of the studying and hard work was coming down to the next four hours.

It was the day of her final examination to become a medic.

The exam consisted of two parts. The first part was a written exam from the textbook and the other part was a practical knowledge skills test where she would be required to diagnose and heal several types of common battlefield wounds and injuries.

As she opened the door, she wondered where Itachi was, he had said he would meet her before the exam...

A feeling of calm poured over her when she saw him standing next to the Hokage. His eyes were reassuring and firm as they made contact with hers.

Hinata bowed respectfully before the Hokage.

"Good morning, Hinata," Lady Tsunade greeted her almost cheerfully as her eyes pinned down on her. Pointing towards Shizune's office, she instructed her, "You may get started now on the written exam portion of the test. When you are finished, you may find me and we will head over to the hospital ward to begin the second part of the exam…any questions?"

Swallowing nervously, as pre-test nerves suddenly began to inch their way into her psyche. She shook her head automatically in response.

"No ma'am." She responded trying to be positive.

"Good, I will see you when you are finished." The Hokage told her firmly as she began to walk towards the door.

As Hinata began walking with her head down toward Shizune's office, she felt Itachi place his hand firmly on her shoulder.

"You can do this…I will see you after you complete the exam." He said calmly as his eyes told her failure was not an option he would accept from her.

"Okay." Hinata responded more confidently as she was calmed by his belief in her. "I will do my best."

"I know you will." Itachi told her as he began to follow the Hokage out of the room.

Walking a little more assertively into Shizune's office, Hinata sat down and took a deep calming breath before flipping over the exam and began reading through the questions.

Her heart began to sink in her stomach after she saw the first few questions and she noticed how difficult they were. Scanning over the rest of the questions she saw there were only a hundred of them but almost all of them had several parts that needed to be answered.

It was not an easy test; in fact it was beginning to feel impossible to her.

_Oh no!_ Her mind began to race in panic as old doubts and fear of failing began to coil around her and sap what was left of her self-confidence.

Feeling a little desperate, Hinata closed her eyes and tried to go over in her mind all of the information she learned from the past few days.

_Oh Kami, I can't remember anything_…

Her mind became blank and she forced herself to look at the test and reread the first question again.

After a few moments of staring at it, her eyes opened wide as she remembered seeing something in the journal and knew it was the answer. Breathing out a sigh of relief, blessed clarity began to enter her mind and she knew she could pass this test.

Most of it was in the journal, she just needed to stay calm…and remember.

oooOOOooo

In the hallway, Itachi saw the Hokage was waiting for him, he noted to himself the look on her face was grave.

"Come have breakfast with me Itachi, I have something I would like to discuss with you." She told him quietly.

"As you wish, Lady Hokage." He replied politely as he followed her towards the cafeteria.

**

Tsunade took a sip of tea as she watched Itachi sit down across from her and stared at him as if she was weighing his future in the balance. After a long while, she grinned slightly as she saw he didn't back down or look away. The look in his eyes clearly told her he could do this all day if necessary.

_Mikoto, my friend, you have trained him well in the art of subtlety._ She silently congratulated her absent friend on her teaching her son such a valuable leadership skill.

"How long have you been serving in ANBU, Itachi?" She asked him in an almost casual manner.

_Much too long._ His brain immediately answered and he began to wonder just when he had grown weary of it. He had been working so hard and had been on so many missions over the past several years; it all seemed as if it was a blur to him.

"Since I was eleven."

Impressed, Tsunade raised her eyebrows, she had read his file when she had first became Hokage but over time had forgotten some of the details of his brilliant career.

"Ah yes, I remember reading you were promoted to captain at the age of thirteen…the youngest ever… if my memory serves me right…"

"Yes, My Lady." Itachi responded warily as he wondered where she was going with all of this questioning. His sense of self preservation was beginning to kick in as she was beginning to remind him of his mother when she wanted something.

The Hokage continued to grin at him with a speculative look in her eyes.

"Perhaps, it is time for us to challenge you with new duties…"

Itachi eyes narrowed slightly as she was finally revealing her intentions to him. "What do you have in mind, ma'am?"

"How would you like to have my job when I retire?"

**

Momentarily caught off guard, Itachi stared back at her a little stunned. With his background and the past hatred between the village leaders and the Uchiha clan always hanging over his head, he had never expected to even be considered as a candidate to be Hokage. The possibility never seemed feasible to him.

Tsunade looked at him and realized for all of his brilliance and maturity, he was still only in his mid-twenties.

"When I had left the village years ago, my old sensei, the Third used to stay in touch with me through letters…" She reminisced fondly as she waited for him to cycle all of his thoughts through his mind. "He mentioned you by name, years ago and told me you reminded him of himself in that you valued peace above all else…even more than your clan… or your life."

Itachi nodded sadly, as like everyone else in the village he missed the old man.

"Hai, it is true, I do value peace at any cost." He admitted quietly.

He frowned slightly as he looked at her. "What about Naruto?"

Tsunade looked at him and shook her head a little regretfully, knowing only too well it was Naruto's dream to become Hokage after her.

"He has grown to be very strong, but lacks the maturity necessary for the job. Perhaps he will be ready someday…but he is not ready now." She said with a sigh before pinning him down with persuasive eyes. "Whereas you could easily step into my shoes right now and take over the job and perform it brilliantly."

Itachi remembered Hinata and knew this decision would affect her also.

"I need to discuss this with someone before I make a decision."

Tsunade smirked as she realized who he was talking about.

"So, I take it congratulations are in order then?"

Itachi sighed as he was forced to reveal their secret.

"Yes." He admitted reluctantly.

Inside her mind Tsunade did a happy dance as she knew getting him to tutor Hinata and forcing them to be together was a brilliant strategy on her part.

_Mikoto was going to be so thrilled when she found out!_

"You couldn't have made a better choice; she is much like you in that she will sacrifice just about anything to protect the village." The Hokage told him with a solemn smile. "And I think you realize the job will require many sacrifices from both of you."

"When are you considering retiring?" Itachi asked her calmly as his mind began to consider all of the possible consequences of accepting the position.

_Not soon enough_, her tired brain answered automatically. "I would like to retire at the end of the year. That would give you and Hinata time to settle into your marriage and during that time I can begin mentoring you to take over. I would also like for you to completely overhaul our training programs, especially our young ninjas considering joining ANBU Black Ops."

A spark of interest began to form in his mind as he listened to her plans.

"I will give you my answer after I speak to Hinata about it." Itachi told her as he prepared himself to leave.

"Itachi, before you go… I want you to know there will be most likely be some opposition to your selection, but I believe you will have tremendous support from the jonins and the people in this village…and in the end, they are the people that matter the most." She reminded him and hoped he would not refuse her.

"Thank you Lady Hokage, I will keep all of that in mind as I make my decision." He told her politely before turning to walk away.

oooOOOooo

Hinata wearily put down her pencil and looked at the clock on the wall, she saw she had finished with only ten minutes to spare.

As she stood up she mentally thanked Itachi for his help, because she wasn't sure if she would have done as well without it. The test had been even more difficult than she had expected it to be.

Activating her Byakugan she found the Hokage outside of the operating room. She hurried out of the office and headed over there…

oooOOOooo

Ino's face wore a surprised smile when she saw who came through the door of her family's flower shop.

_Uchiha Itachi._

Her gossip senses immediately went on high alert when she saw him head straight for a bouquet of pink and lavender carnations and knew exactly who he was buying them for.

_Oh Hinata, you are one lucky girl._ She thought wistfully as she watched him walk over to the cash register and pull out some money.

"Uchiha-san, I shared the information I found out about Saito-Hyuuga-san with Hinata's sister. She should have no problem breaking the contract now." Ino said as she leaned toward him confidentially with a smug smile and wondered why she was feeling a little guilty all of a sudden.

Itachi's eyes were dismissive as he looked at her.

"Your assistance was not necessary," He told her coolly with a slight frown on his face. "Hinata can handle him on her own."

At his lack of appreciation for her help, Ino's eyes began to flash as she watched him walk out the door.

In the doorway behind her, Hajime, who had overheard everything, was staring at her with clouded white eyes and fists clenched.

"I should have known you were too good to be true." He mocked her quietly with pain filled eyes. "I was going to defy my father and my clan for you."

Ino stood there in shock as she felt something akin to loss touch her heart as she watched him leave.

_Wait a freakin minute, I don't actually like him… do I?_ Her mind rebelled as she thought over the past few days. She was surprised to find they actually had a lot in common. They liked the same music, foods…

"Hajime wait!" Ino yelled as she began running out of the shop. Looking down the sidewalk she spotted him halfway down the block.

She ran and caught up with him, her blond was bouncing behind her in waves.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you would be so much fun to hang out with."

At hearing her apology, Hajime turned around and for a moment his face brightened and then as he looked at her gorgeous face, he knew his father was right. Beautiful women were treacherous bitches and it was better to stay away from them.

"I am going to marry Hinata,…at least she is honest." He told her bitterly as his eyes drifted over her one last time. "Even if she is ugly." He muttered to himself as he left her standing alone on the sidewalk.

"Hey, just because I am beautiful, doesn't mean I can't be honest, Hajime?" Ino's blue eyes flashed as she realized she was being dumped.

"It's over Ino." He told her coldly without even turning around.

Outraged, Ino spun around violently, making her long blonde ponytail swing behind her like an executioner's axe before she marched back to the shop.

"It's not over… until I say it is." She muttered angrily as she put up the closed sign on her family's shop. Her eyes were dangerous as she made up her mind to get even with him.

_Just you wait_…she thought as she headed into her favorite dress shop.

oooOOOooo

"Lady Hokage, I am finished with my exam." Hinata told her as she handed her the test.

"Thank you, Hinata." The Hokage responded with a knowing grin as she took the exam from her.

Hinata frowned slightly as she didn't understand why the Hokage was looking at her so strangely. It was the sort of grin someone wore when they knew something that you didn't and it was making Hinata very uncomfortable.

Taking note of Hinata's discomfort, Lady Tsunade changed her expression to be more neutral and opened the door to the operating room. Sighing a little impatiently, she contained herself as she realized that it wasn't her place to share Itachi's news with her.

"Come with me, Hinata." The Hokage told her as she walked through the door. "Everything has been set up for you in the operating room, you have two hours to diagnose and treat every patient in the room."

Hinata looked around the room and almost fainted as she saw the room was full of injured ninjas…

oooOOOooo

Itachi waited outside of the operating room and looked at his watch again. It was almost noon; she should be completing her exam at any time.

As he waited for Hinata, he recycled again in his mind the offer the Hokage made him. The offer itself made him happy, because it proved that relations between the village and his clan had made tremendous strides in healing the breach that was between them.

He knew if the Third Hokage was alive today, he would be gratified to see their united stand against the clan and the village years ago had paid off with so much success...

Suddenly the double doors sprang open and Hinata flung herself into his arms with a dazzling smile.

"I did it…I passed." She said happily just before she collapsed in his arms.

Itachi gently scooped her up bridal style and looked up at the Hokage and Shizune who were beginning to argue as they came through the door.

"I told you this would happen, Lady Tsunade, you pushed her too hard." Shizune told her as she pointed to Hinata.

"Oh Shizune, she will be fine, I wanted to test her stamina and she passed with flying colors." She said as she looked over at Itachi with a satisfied grin. "I have decided to let her work part time in hospital and give her more training, she is especially good with antidotes to poison and ointments."

"Oh I know, a few weeks ago she gave me some ointment cream infused with chakra that did wonders for a scar I couldn't heal." Shizune chimed in as she showed them her wrist. "See…you can barely notice it now."

"Excuse me," Itachi interrupted politely. "Where do you want me to set her."

In his arms, Hinata's eyes began to flutter open. "I'm fine, Itachi…" She said as she opened her eyes slowly. "I am just so…tired."

Itachi sat her down on the bench and sat next to her so she could lean against him. He began applying chakra to her to help her recover her store of chakra.

As they turned to leave, both Shizune and the Hokage wore identical happy smiles for the part they each played in bringing them together.

"Come on Shizune, let's go celebrate." Lady Tsunade said thinking this would be the perfect excuse to get out of tackling that huge stack of papers on her desk.

"Oh no…Lady Tsunade, we have work to do..." Shizune told her with firm eyes and tight lips, knowing all along that they were headed to the bar… "Fine, just one drink and then we need to get to work."

"Don't worry, just one drink and we will head straight over to the office…" The Hokage promised her assistant with a grin…

**

After about ten minutes, Hinata began to recover some of her strength back. Her smile was soft as she looked at him.

"Thank you, Itachi; I couldn't have done it without you." She admitted to him quietly.

Itachi looked at her with a knowing grin, "You would have managed on your own, the Hokage was just giving us an excuse to be together and she was also testing me."

Hinata grinned tiredly and snuggled closer to him, as she was beginning to wonder if the whole village was playing matchmaker with her and Itachi.

"Itachi, why was she testing you?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

Itachi sighed and decided only to give her part of his news; he didn't feel that now would be the appropriate time to share something like that with her. Today the spotlight belonged to her.

"For the next few months she wants me to oversee all of the training programs and implement new training procedures." Itachi looked down at her and saw her eyes were closed.

She had fallen asleep against him.

Itachi stood up and lifted her back into his arms and decided to carry her to his house.

oooOOOooo

The strong scent of pine sol and wax assailed her nostrils, waking her up from a deep sleep. As she listened to his even breathing as he slept next to her, it didn't take her long to figure out where he had taken her.

She was at his house, in his bedroom.

Her eyes opened wide and a blush formed on her cheeks as she turned to him and looked straight into his dark eyes.

She snuggled closer to him and buried her face in his chest as he pulled her closer towards him.

The door banged open and Mikoto peeked her head in, not caring if she was interrupting anything or not.

"Wake up, dinner is ready." She said cheerfully, before closing the door behind her with a grin.

At the mention of dinner, Hinata realized she was absolutely starving but as she tried to get up her body simply refused to move.

She tried again and collapsed in frustration against the pillow.

_Hyuugas never ask for help and never complain_, her father's clipped voice told her in her head as she laid there. She looked over at Itachi who was sitting up next to her looking at her with an amused light in his eyes.

"Would you like some help?" He asked her as he held out his hand.

Hinata looked at him and it dawned on her that he never looked at her as if she was a dead weight to him or weak, he almost seemed to enjoy helping her. It reminded her of that day, not too long ago, when he first came up to her in the library. He didn't judge her then and he wasn't doing it now.

A smile of trust formed on her face as she reached up and took his hand. "Yes, please."

Itachi pulled her up and kept his arm around her as he guided her firmly up the steps from his sunken in bed and out his bedroom door.

"Um Itachi, I think I can walk on my own now," She told him before they entered the kitchen. Itachi stepped away from her and let her go through the doorway on her own.

Hinata's eyes opened wide when she saw the huge chocolate cake in the middle of the table with "Congratulations Hinata" written in pink colored icing decorating it.

"Oh Mikoto…" Hinata choked out emotionally as she couldn't remember anyone making her a homemade cake to celebrate any of her accomplishments since her mother was alive.

Mikoto pulled her into a tight hug. "I am so proud of you, dearest,…so proud."

Feeling like she was ten years old again, or even younger, Hinata began to cry, but then she started to giggle when she saw Itachi and Sasuke were staring at them like their actions were incomprehensible to them.

Mikoto glared in frustration at them before whispering to Hinata with a teary laugh.

"I think you see why, I want grandkids so badly. They never let me hug them."

Mikoto and Hinata began to laugh as they watched as Itachi and Sasuke both rolled their eyes before turning toward the window as they both thought they had heard that complaint one too many times.

**

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry for taking so long to update this story. Ever since I came back from vacation (which was awesome btw); I have had no free time. I have decided to add one more chapter before I end it. I also have a short epilogue/honeymoon scene (T-rated) that I am dying to write. I have some of the next chapter already written, I will try to post it this weekend.

I dedicate this chapter to Luriaz Seint who read all of my stories in one day and left a review on every single chapter. She definitely went the extra mile and probably went into Itahina overload and for that I have to give her massive kudos. A big giant Mikoto hug for you, my friend.

I would thank the rest of you individually but I really want to save my energy to work on the next chapter, so please accept my humblest thanks. I really do appreciate all of you.


	19. Chapter 19

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 19~**

* * *

"Shikamaru!" His mother screeched as she saw the deer eating grass outside her kitchen window while she was washing dishes from dinner time. "Who left the damn gate open?"

Cringing in pain from his mother's shrill voice, Shikamaru looked out his bedroom window and saw several deer were munching away happily on his father's weed infested lawn. He noticed that after five days of constant work on it, the lawn still looked the same—dead.

"Shikamaru! Shikaku!—get your lazy asses down here right now!"

"Yeah, yeah, give it a rest, woman, I am coming." Her son mumbled irritably as he put his shoes on.

"I heard that, Shikamaru." He heard his mother's strident voice complain up the stairwell into his room.

He sighed and just before he was about to leave his room he glanced out the window.

"Oh crap."

He was far from lazy as he flew down the stairs and raced out the back door.

"Hyuuga-san," Shikamaru cautioned from a distance with big eyes as he held his hands out in front of him gesturing towards him, "Walk towards me slowly. Keep your eyes straight ahead, whatever you do, don't make eye contact with them."

Hiashi, surrounded by several deer with glowing red eyes was not amused. He was beginning to feel like the butt of a ridiculous joke and he did not like it one bit.

"They are just deer, they are harmless." He brushed away his warning arrogantly as he tried to walk out from the middle of them. "I do not appreciate your amusing yourself at my expense, Nara-san."

Instead of scattering, the deer formed an even tighter circle around him and began pawing angrily at the ground. Alarmed, Hiashi immediately moved into a jyuken stance.

"What is going on?" He demanded beginning to get pissed off.

Shikaku walked around the corner and dropped his beer in shock, leaving a puddle that was gradually turning the ground blacker by the minute.

"Oh shit," he said as his eyes opened wide with panic as he hurried toward the Hyuuga clan leader.

"Hiashi, don't move or they will tear you to pieces."

Hiashi rolled his eyes and relaxed slightly, "Oh please, just who do you think you people are messing with?"

"It is true, Hiashi, those deer of ours are no ordinary deer and I can tell by the way they are acting, they don't like you." Shikaku said as another beer magically appeared in his hand.

"Shikaku, are you drinking again." Yoshino's shrill voice yelled out the kitchen window.

The deer inched closer toward Hiashi, he activated his Byakugan and prepared to strike if they came any closer to him.

"No dear," Shikaku said weakly as he hid the beer anxiously behind his back.

"The hell you aren't!" She yelled as she stormed out of the back door.

As she advanced on him, Shikaku kept his beer hidden behind his back; his eyes darted to his son begging him to help him out.

"Uh mother, in case you haven't noticed… we are in the middle of a situation here." Shikamaru complained stating the obvious as he pointed languidly towards Hiashi.

Yoshino turned and saw Hiashi surrounded by their hostile herd of deer and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

While her attention was away from him, Shikaku drained what was left of his beer and threw the empty can far away from him. His eyes were grateful as he gave the thumbs up sign to his son.

Yoshino sighed, a mother's job was never done, especially with lazy-asses like the men she had around her.

Putting her index fingers in her mouth she whistled sharply and the all of the deer's heads poked up immediately in unison and turned towards her.

She began walking towards the gate. "Come, my angels, I have some dinner for you."

At the mention of dinner, the deer all began following her docilely towards the pasture through the gate. After the last deer went through, Shikamaru immediately closed it with a relieved sigh behind her. "Man, I hate those deer."

Yoshino glared at her family and put her hands on her hips.

"Uhg, I swear the two of you grow more pathetic every day! Shikamaru, when you get off of work later tonight, you are going to have to clean up the mess the deer made in the yard." Yoshino ordered as she opened the shed and pulled out a bale of hay and began feeding them.

"Don't worry, I won't let the bad man come back anymore, I promise." She said soothingly as she scratched the leader behind his antlers.

Yoshino's eyes were firm as she turned toward Hiashi.

"Hyuuga-san, you cannot come back here anymore, the deer do not like you and I cannot guarantee your safety. You will just have to forfeit the competition." Yoshino told him apologetically, she was pretty bummed actually because she had been hoping he would be able to do something with their crappy lawn.

Hiashi's lips were tight and he was still angry that he let himself be surprised by something as pathetic as a herd of deer. Granted they were ninja deer, but still it was an affront to his dignity that would be immensely embarrassing if the truth were ever revealed.

He nodded arrogantly and strode away leaving all of his lawn supplies behind.

As he walked away he shook the dust off the bottom of his sandals, he was never coming back to this compound again.

He sighed in defeat, knowing that he had no choice but to forfeit to the Uchiha.

oooOOOooo

Fugaku did a double take when he looked at cordoned off area at the Inuzuka's compound. When he left yesterday, shoots of tender grass had been coming up all over the place and the lawn looked terrific.

"What the…" He spouted in surprise as he took in the plot of dirt in front of him. Something had eaten away not only the seeds but also the new sprouts of grass as well.

He looked around and could not find any paw prints, so he knew no animals were involved.

It could only be…he looked closer and saw a few bugs moving amongst the grass.

_Those damn insect users! How dare they betray me…I hired them to protect the lawn, not destroy it. _Fugaku seethed as he took in the total lack of grass in the area.

"My father has long coveted that award, Uchiha-san, I am sure you understand its intrinsic value." Shino said as he came up silently behind him.

Fugaku turned on him, his Sharigan flashing menacingly. "There is no way in hell, I am going to let you traitorous insect-users win that award." He stated in anger as he spun around to leave.

"It is only logical, given the feud you have with Hyuuga-san, that my clan will come out the winner, Uchiha-san. So, on my father's behalf, I thank you for the award in advance." Shino said with an extremely correct bow and a secret smile hidden behind the collar of his long jacket.

Fugaku stormed off, his lips were tight with anger knowing that he was beaten by an inferior clan…of bug-users!

oooOOOooo

[Konoha Men's Association and Lawn Club President's Office…]

"I wish to forfeit." Hiashi stated firmly with frustration in his eyes as he stood in front of the president's desk.

"No, I am going to forfeit, Hiashi." Fugaku interrupted bluntly as he stepped into the office.

The president's eyes began to shift back and forth between the two clan heads nervously. Not knowing what to expect from either of them, he blotted his balding and profusely sweating head nervously with his handkerchief.

"Hiashi, you need to accept the award." Fugaku told him with implacable eyes. "I will not let that traitorous Aburame clan win by default."

At the mention of that pathetically inferior clan, Hiashi sneered. He realized Fugaku was right, an award as prestigious as this one deserved to be given to one of the main clans. Those other insignificant clans were not worthy of it.

"I won it last year; so I will be the one forfeiting. My skills as a gardener are obviously declining." He admitted with as he lowered his head a fraction in defeat.

"Nonsense Lord Hyuuga, you are a superb gardener, it is just the Nara clan's yard is a dead zone. For some reason nothing will ever grow there except for weeds, it is a phenomenon no one in the club has ever been able to explain." The president told him in a nauseatingly suck-upish way as his posse behind him bobbed their heads slavishly in agreement with him.

Fugaku barked out a laugh. "It is because of their beer, you idiots. Shikaku admitted one night while we were drinking, after a clan gathering, that their beer is some of the most toxic shit on earth. Once it makes contact with the soil, that land will never grow anything again…or at least that is what Shikaku claims, you never know if it is true or not with him."

Hiashi's eyes grew hard and an angry light entered them when he figured out the mystery substance Hanabi had used to destroy his lawn.

"It is true alright, my daughter, Hanabi, used it on my lawn and even after we bulldozed it, my head gardener and I still cannot get anything to grow." Hiashi stated adamantly with taut lips and folded arms.

The posse and the president sat and listened in fascination as they had wondered for years about the reason behind the black spots of death all over the Nara clan's yard.

"At least your lawn is not a burned out, craterous mountain of death like my yard is, Hiashi." Fugaku yelled furiously as he slammed his fist on the desk. "I can't even bulldoze it, damn it."

"I think your yard is positively stunning, Lord Uchiha." The president's teen-aged daughter gushed with a fan-girlish giggle (she had a secret crush on Sasuke and was trying to get in good with his father).

Fugaku glared at her like she was some sort of idiot and feeling chastised she slumped down into her chair.

"Still, I am not deserving of the award, so I forfeit to you, Fugaku." Hiashi stated somewhat single-mindedly. "Hyuugas must earn what they receive, it is our way."

Fugaku looked at the plaque behind the glass in the trophy case and still wanted it badly, but he realized he did not want to win it by default. It just didn't feel right. He wanted to earn it or he didn't want it at all.

"No, I can only accept it if I earn it." Fugaku responded harshly as he turned toward his rival. "Uchihas do not accept charity."

"Gentlemen please," the president pleaded as he stood up and desperately tried to get their attention before their fighting could escalate into something much worse.

Fugaku and Hiashi turned and looked at him expectantly with hard eyes.

"Might I suggest you share the award, at least that way the Aburame clan will not win it by default?" He offered meekly as he withered under their collective glare. "Otherwise, I will be forced to declare them this year's winner."

Silence dominated the room as each man thought about the Aburame Clan receiving the award instead of one of them. Both of them considered it intolerable.

"Fine…I will share it." Hiashi said with a reluctant and gracious incline of his proud head.

"Hai, same here." Fugaku muttered as he snapped a pencil in his hand. "Anything to keep those damn traitorous bug-users from getting it."

Immensely relieved the matter was settled amicably; the president fell back in his chair and began mopping his sweaty head with his handkerchief.

"Excellent, I will see that each one of you receives a plaque with your names engraved on it by next week." He said quickly before looking over at his posse with a harassed look on his face. "I need a drink and you guys are buying."

The president stood up without a word to anyone and fled the office; his posse immediately followed him in pursuit.

Fugaku stared after him with a disgusted look on his face. "That guy is such a weasel; we need to appoint a new president next year."

"I agree, he has deplorable taste in lawns, he needs to go." Hiashi agreed dourly.

"Walk with me Hiashi." Fugaku asked gruffly as he began leaving the office. "I need to talk to you."

Silently, Hiashi began to walk beside him. They continued that way for quite a distance before Hiashi turned toward him.

"I shouldn't have said those things about your son all those years ago." He began uncomfortably. "My wife was dead and I was left with only… daughters, while you still had your beautiful wife and…two exceptionally gifted sons…one of which had made ANBU Captain at the age of thirteen!" He said shaking his head as if he still couldn't believe it. "I began to hate you for it." He explained and couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Fugaku sighed, "I know you did. But I never told you that my wife desperately wanted a daughter and after we were told we couldn't have any more children, I decided that you were right to cut off the friendship between us. Every time Mikoto would see your little girls she would come home crying." He revealed to him before letting out a harsh laugh. "In the end, I almost lost my family because of my stubbornness."

"Hmpf, you always were very stubborn, Fugaku." Hiashi told his childhood friend as he felt some of the ice he had encased around himself begin to melt.

"I don't think you have room to talk, my friend." Fugaku responded acidly with raised eyebrows.

"Hai, I think our feud has gone on long enough, don't you?" Hiashi told him offering a proverbial olive branch.

Fugaku stared out in front of him, and thought about how many times over the years he had wanted to go talk to his friend but always stopped himself before actually going to do it. He was glad for the new start.

"It has gone on far too long in my opinion." He told him quietly before looking over at Hiashi. "Will you come with me to my son's house, I need your help."

It's too late for me and my _family_, Hiashi thought sadly knowing how much they all hated him, at least he could help Fugaku get his family back.

"Yes, I will come with you."

oooOOOooo

Itachi's face was completely devoid of emotion as he opened the door, knowing his father and Lord Hyuuga were on the other side of it.

Behind him, Hinata, felt tears coming on as she hoped and prayed Itachi's father had come here to apologize. Mikoto came up beside her and grabbed her hand and prayed along with her.

Fugaku stood there for a moment staring at his son, and knew that Itachi was by far a better man than he ever could hope to be. He just hoped he was also forgiving, he didn't know if he was or not, he had never asked for forgiveness from him before.

"Son, I would like to apologize to you, I was wrong…" Fugaku began after clearing his throat uncomfortably.

Itachi interrupted him by shaking his head firmly. "I am not the one you should be apologizing to, father." He told him coolly as he stepped aside so Fugaku could see Hinata and Mikoto and Sasuke who was sitting at the table inside of the house.

Fugaku was humbled by his son's actions; he had never realized just how selfless Itachi really was.

_Fine son, I will do it your way_, Fugaku's eyes told him before he stepped inside and stood before Hinata, who was biting her lip to keep the tears at bay.

"Hyuuga-san, I apologize for the way I have treated you and would be honored to have you become part of my family if that event should ever take place. You are a daughter any man would be proud of." He told her with a bow and a small glance at his friend, behind him.

Stunned and wishing she could tell all of them about their secret engagement, Hinata pulled herself together and bowed respectfully before him. "I accept your apology, Uchiha-sama." Hinata told him softly before looking over at Itachi and meeting his eyes. The next moment she was hauled tightly beside him with his arm around her.

Fugaku glanced toward Sasuke and was about to apologize when his son stopped him by saying in a bored voice. "I will come home for a while, at least until my house is finished."

"Thank you, Sasuke, your mother and I would like that." Fugaku told his youngest son with a small nod and a grateful look in his eyes.

Leaning toward his wife, he whispered to her with pleading eyes.

"Mikoto, would you mind coming outside with me."

Holding back a very happy smile she walked past Hiashi and followed her husband outside and flung herself into his arms.

"Oh Fugaku, I've missed you so much." Mikoto said tearfully, as Fugaku scooped her up with a pained looked on his face as he adjusted her in his arms. He began carrying her back home.

"Gah, Mikoto, have you gained weight?" He asked her as an amused grin began to form on his face.

"Maybe a little…" Mikoto admitted with narrowing eyes. "You know how I get when I am upset."

"Hmpf, yeah, I bet there isn't any chocolate left in Konoha, is there?"

Mikoto laughed and snuggled her face in his chest, "Probably not, I think I ate all of it."

"Well, I guess I am just going to have to keep from upsetting you for awhile." He told her with an apologetic look that was growing warmer by the second.

"Mmm, that would be nice, I don't think I could have stayed another night at Itachi's house, he kept making clones to clean up after me…doesn't that seem backwards to you at all, Fugaku?" Mikoto asked after he set her down on the ground and opened the door to their house.

"Well, you know how he is, Mikoto, I don't think she is going to have the guts to stand up to him, she is far too forgiving and kind." Fugaku told his wife with a skeptical look on his face.

"Oh please, that girl is far stronger than any one gives her credit for and Itachi knows it. She will be running their household in no time, you'll see." She refuted him with a wave of her hand.

Fugaku's eyes were serious as he looked at her.

"Promise me you won't meddle with them anymore, they will have to learn how to work things out for themselves." He told her firmly.

Mikoto sighed as she looked away from him glumly. "Fine, I promise."

Fugaku breathed out in relief as he began dragging her down the hallway, past the huge mess he left for her in the kitchen. There was dirty laundry on the floor outside of their bedroom door; he kicked it off to the side.

"Good, because I don't want to talk about them anymore..." He told her as he pulled her into their bedroom and kicked the door shut with his foot.

"Well, I want to talk about the god-awful mess my house is in." Mikoto told him with teasing eyes and tightly folded arms. "What the hell did you do all week?"

"I missed you, alright." Fugaku admitted irritably. "You know I can't function well when you're not around."

Mikoto smiled as she laid her hands on her husband's shoulders.

"Good answer, dear; I will help you clean it up later." She told him soothingly as she lifted her face towards his.

_I thought you might like that answer, _he thought to himself as he leaned down to kiss her.

oooOOOooo

"Father, would you like some supper, there is still some left." Hinata offered as she led him to a seat at the table.

"Thank you, Hinata." He replied a little woodenly as he felt extremely uncomfortable after all of the emotion of the past few minutes. But, he was also very hungry so he decided to take what she offered him.

Hinata dished him up a plate and then began working on cleaning up the dishes. Itachi came up beside her and began to help her.

"Before you leave, I would like to speak to your father alone for a moment, if you don't mind." Itachi whispered to her.

Hinata frowned slightly before answering him, "Um okay, I will wait for you outside."

After they were done with dishes, Itachi sat at the table across from Hiashi.

"Hiashi-sama, I would like to speak to you in private before you leave." He asked politely.

Hiashi glanced toward Hinata speculatively before he turned toward him with equal politeness.

"As you wish, Uchiha-san."

Blushing slightly, Hinata stepped out the back door and sat down on the porch.

Itachi stared at him for a moment before frowning slightly.

"Let me see, you would like to marry my daughter." Hiashi stated bluntly.

"Yes, I have already asked her and she has accepted. We do not feel your permission is necessary as she is of age to make her own decisions." Itachi replied firmly.

"Well for what it is worth, Uchiha-san, I would give you my permission to marry her, if she was not already bound by her clan to marry her cousin." Hiashi told him a little regretfully. "I do not have the power to release her from that contract."

Itachi's eyes searched his and found that he was telling the truth.

"I figured out a while ago what you are up to." He told the older ninja with a disapproving look on his face.

"I am not surprised, Uchiha-san, however, I need you to stay out of it. My clan would not look kindly upon your interfering." Hiashi warned him coolly.

"I understand and have not spoken to Hinata about it." Itachi responded with equal coolness. "However, I will be watching over her tomorrow night."

Hiashi smiled inwardly to himself. "Good, Uchiha-san, I am counting on it."

oooOOOooo

Hinata walked along side her father as was beginning to feel the silence between them had dragged on too long. She was surprised when her father was the first to break it.

"I see you passed your medical course, Hinata." Hiashi stated calmly.

Hinata frowned, wondering how he knew about it. "Yes father…"

She sighed and waited for his usual disapproving lecture to begin.

"You do realize that our clan by-laws prohibit us from becoming medics, Hinata, the decision was made a few years ago." He informed her with an edge to his voice.

Her eyes flew to his face as an understanding light began to enter her mind. It had been a long time since she had read through her clan's by laws; she decided she would rectify that problem as soon as she got home.

"I was not aware of that, father; I will read the by-laws when I get home." She told him a little defensively.

"I will have them sent to your room." He told her before walking up to the gate of their clan compound.

"Hiashi-sama, Hinata-sama," the branch member said respectfully as he bowed low before them. "Saito-Hyuuga Hoshu and Hajime-sama are waiting for you in your office."

Hiashi nodded dismissively before walking through the gate, Hinata followed him.

"Hinata you may be excused from meeting with them." He told her in a firm voice as he looked at her. "Are all of the preparations for tomorrow's celebration in order?"

A feeling of dread entered her as she had no idea what Hanabi and Neji had done so far regarding the party. "You will have to discuss that with Hanabi, her and Neji have taken over the planning for this year's event." She admitted hesitantly. "She said she didn't need any help from me."

Alarmed, Hiashi stopped in his tracks; his body was rigid as he signaled quickly to a branch member.

"Locate Hanabi and Neji and have them meet me in the library at once." He told him urgently.

"Come with me, Hinata." Her father told her with tight lips as he strode towards the library.

**

_**Author's Note**__:_ I had left you guys hanging a little bit with the last chapter so I decided to get this one out quickly. I am so excited and also horribly saddened that the next chapter will be the last one. Hopefully in your opinion, I am saving the best for last.

I am sure Hanabi did a great job planning the party and everything will be fine, right? (author laughs evilly) We will see….

**Manga Spoiler**: (Yawn) Killer bee is way cooler than Naruto, and I really don't care about evil Naruto, dark Sasuke could kick evil Naruto's ass any day of the week IMO. Whatever, I hope it gets better soon…


	20. Chapter 20

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 20~**

* * *

_**Authors Note:**_ I decided to split this last chapter in two because I felt I was beginning to rush everything too much. I have decided to make the last chapter be the fight/party scene and have some fun with it…

* * *

**[Clan conference room, Hyuuga compound, 10:00 a.m.]**

The air was ripe with old men smell, greed and politics. Tired ideology and tradition choked off all other signs of life that remained in the room. After two hours of stultifying droning on of clan history and bylaws, the people who weren't yet gripped in a comatose of boredom, watched each other with suspiciously alert eyes.

It was the Hyuuga way with their preeminent white eyes that saw everything and used superficial appearances to cover up any lies or deceit.

_Ah, a typical clan meeting_, Hanabi thought excitedly as she kept on her face the most vacuous expression she could pull off without making her father suspicious.

Hanabi's eyes risked a glance over at her cousin, Neji, who like her, was carefully maintaining the pretense of indifference. He also could feel the tension in the room as mutinous undercurrents swam just below the surface.

Next to him, completely oblivious to all of the intrigue and plotting, Hajime's head fell back as his snores began to sound loudly throughout the room.

"Hajime!" His father snapped as he nudged him sharply in the ribs. Hajime lurched forward and dropped his head on his arms on the table in front of him and fell back asleep again.

_At least he is not snoring or disrupting the meeting any longer_, his father thought irritably as he decided to let his idiot son sleep for a while longer.

"I would like to use this time to bring up finances for the clan orphan's fund; I believe it is in need of replenishment." Elder Saito-Hyuuga stated as he read off from an agenda in front of him.

Sitting next to her sister, Hinata perked up as this charity and program was one of hers that she had implemented a few years ago when she had noticed that not all of her clan-members were being taken of properly.

Within a few moments, she felt herself becoming increasingly heartsick as she listened to the disgustingly wealthy men of her clan fight with tight-fisted tenacity over releasing even a small amount of the clan's money into the fund.

Independently wealthy within her own right, Hinata balled her fists up in outrage and was about to stand up and offer to replenish the fund herself, when her father lifted his hand indolently and stopped the miserly bickering.

"Give the orphans ten percent more than they had originally received at the beginning of the fiscal year—we cannot have Hyuugas' going without." Hiashi stated with a finality in his voice that rang true and quieted down all of the opposition.

A little surprised, Hinata eyes gazed over at her father with gratitude and knew deep down that it was only being done for appearances sake but the only thing that mattered to her was that the children were being taken care of.

Sitting beside her, Hanabi put her hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

"Fine Hiashi-sama." Saito-Hyuuga conceded with barely concealed annoyance after staring at the leader of his clan. "The next item on the agenda as voted by the board this morning, a reprimand is to be issued to Hyuuga Hinata for violating the clan's policy on medical training."

Hinata's eyes flew toward her father and saw his face was completely neutral. He was not going to back her on this issue.

"Hinata-sama, what do you have to say for yourself?" Elder Saito-Hyuuga asked her with a look on his face that was meant to intimidate her.

Feeling herself sinking her chair, Hinata tried to pull herself together and almost yelped in pain as Hanabi's hand gripped hers tightly with pent up anger.

"M-my only goal was to serve my team-mates and Konoha by being able to help injured ninjas on the battlefield. I-I do not see how that could be wrong." Hinata defended herself quietly as a sharp breath of frustration escaped her.

Sitting on the other side of Hajime, Elder Hyuuga Kaito looked at her with firm eyes that held not even a trace amount of understanding in them. "Your desire to serve others is admirable, Hinata-sama, however, we have decided that medical training opens up clan-members to abuse by forcing us to use our clan heritage in demeaning and unsuitable ways."

_Self-serving bastards_, Hanabi thought acidly as she glanced around the room and saw all of the men appeared to agree with Elder Kaito, with the exception of her father who had an angry-looking glint in his eyes.

_Father?_

She was surprised at his anger, as she was used to seeing her father as the enemy and to see that he wasn't against her sister becoming a medic was an uncomfortable surprise to her.

"The reprimand is duly noted Elders Saito and Kaito, I suggest we move on to the next agenda item." Hiashi told them blandly before taking a sip of his tea.

Disregarding the implacable look in his clan leader's eyes, Elder Saito's eyes were arrogant as they raked over Hinata.

"In the name of the council of elders, I reprimand you for your actions and forbid you from using your medical skills outside of the clan." He stated with a self-righteous nod of his head.

Hinata closed her eyes in frustration at the selfish and close-mindedness of the board and took a deep breath before giving them her answer.

"I said--move on." Hiashi interrupted with an edge of steel to his voice.

Warmth flooded through her at her father's defense of her, as she looked at him his eyes told her to remain silent.

Feeling a bit disconcerted by all of the intrigue and hidden agendas in the room, Hinata heeded his subtle request for her to be quiet.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she noted her sister was looking at her plate in front of her with a demure look on her face and her hands were folded placidly in her lap.

_Oh, not good!_ Hinata thought in alarm as she placed her hand over her sisters folded hands and squeezed them gently telling her to keep it together.

"The next agenda item is another reprimand for Hyuuga Hinata." Elder Saito-Hyuuga announced almost casually as the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight sneer.

Stalling for time, Hiashi lifted his hand and signaled to the branch members standing by at the back of the room. "We will continue the meeting after we break for lunch."

Like the sun breaking through dark clouds, the tension immediately evaporated as the branch members began serving lunch to all of the council members. Hinata looked around in surprise as laughter and jovial discussions began to break out across the room. The old men were talking and acting as if they were all best friends with each other.

"Hajime wake up." His father told him as he kicked him under the table.

Sitting up groggy eyed and stretching his arms above his head, "Did I miss anything?" He asked his father blithely unaware of the undercurrents that were just there a few moments before.

Saito-Hyuuga pinned his eyes down on Hinata and smiled coldly as he responded. "No son, you didn't."

Across the table, Hinata shivered and turned her attention towards her plate. Next to her hand, the minutes from previous clan meetings lay there and caught her eye. Picking it up aimlessly, Hinata began to read through it and saw in writing how her father had been outvoted several times by the same members led by Saito-Hyuuga.

Her eyebrows lifted when she saw for the past few years, her father had been trying to remove her as heir (per her stated wishes) and appoint Hanabi but had been blocked by Saito-Hyuuga.

Her father had been trying to set her free for the last few years and she had done nothing to help him. She had been too busy training, going on missions and serving the clan in other ways to deal with clan council business.

Hinata looked at her father and she began to realize what he wanted from her…If she wanted to be free to live her own life than she would have to do it on her own…

While Hanabi ate, she listened with disgust to the conversation across from her between Hajime and his father.

"A few days ago, I had the hottest one and a half nighter of my life and then she turned out to be a treacherous bitch. You were right father; the beautiful ones cannot be trusted." Hajime told his father bitterly as he aimlessly pushed his food around on his plate.

Elder Saito-Hyuuga glanced uncomfortably across the table before responding patiently, "Why do you think I want you to marry your cousin, she is too plain to attract anyone and betray you. You will be much better off with her by your side, trust me in this, my son."

Clutching her knife like a weapon, Hanabi stabbed her chicken breast and sliced through it. _You bastards, who are you calling ugly?_ She fumed silently. Glancing over at her sister, she saw Hinata was completely engrossed in whatever she was reading and not paying attention to the conversation across from her.

Rolling her eyes, Hanabi admitted to herself her sister was just not cut out for intrigue, she was just way, way too nice and honorable.

Inwardly smiling at the confirmation that Hajime did commit infidelity against her sister, she took a bite of her chicken and looked satisfactorily around the room.

_I've got your back big sis, don't worry about it._

After everyone had taken a short break the branch members began clearing the plates away and the meeting resumed.

"Uh, hmm," Elder Saito-Hyuuga cleared his throat in a business-like way signaling the meeting was back in session.

Hinata sat there in silence as she saw almost every eye was upon her, the looks on most of the old men on the board's faces could only be described as full of censure. Looking across the table at Hajime he gave her a sly and somewhat lewd smirk that made her feel very uncomfortable. She began to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach…

"Hyuuga Hinata the board would like for you to explain these photos to us."

Knowing exactly what photographs he was referring to, Hinata could feel the room begin to spin upon her as she looked around and began to feel like she had been here before, at least a couple of times. However, none of the other times were as intrusive as this interrogation was as dozens of glacial white eyes stared at her all at once.

The old men's eyes were full of accusation and they made her feel like the proverbial Whore of Babylon.

"I love him." Hinata explained simply and honestly knowing that she had no other explanation to give them.

Shock and outrage took hostage of the room as all of the oxygen was sucked out of it.

"Oh- my- god…it is even worse than we thought." Saito-Hyuuga choked rigidly out, clearly appalled at her behavior.

"Slut! Your scandalous behavior has brought humiliation and disgrace on our clan!" He raged as he pointed his long bony finger at her. "Hyuugas do not fall in lo…" his mouth turned down in distaste as he couldn't bring himself to use the L word.

"With an Uchiha no less, have you no shame, whore." Another elder raged through clenched teeth at her.

Elder Kaito shocked everyone by laughing, his laughter sounded like rusty old hinges that grated on their ears but it also silenced the room.

"It seems the apple does not fall too far from the tree, now does it Hiashi? I seem to remember twenty years ago you and your wife caused an even greater scandal and you almost lost your power because of it."

Through the fog of misery and humiliation, Hinata's eyes flew toward her father and was shocked. She couldn't picture her father ever doing anything so reckless, it just didn't seem like he was capable of it.

_He must have really loved mother_. Hinata thought sadly.

Hiashi glared at the whole group. "That is ancient history and I have already dealt with my daughter regarding her actions. This discussion is over." He snapped becoming increasingly angry.

Saito-Hyuuga smirked as he addressed his clan leader disrespectfully. "You would like that, wouldn't you Hiashi?" He turned toward the rest of the group and gestured dramatically. "Because it exposes you and your main branch family for the inferior and disgraceful lot of ninjas you are."

He turned toward Hinata with the sort of smile one would use on a very disobedient child. "You have been a disgrace your whole life, however, I am a forgiving man and will give you a chance to redeem yourself by allowing you to marry my son and provide the clan with pure little heirs." He said with a regal nod of his head.

"Isn't that right, Hajime?" His father added with a grim laugh. "After all you wouldn't ever be so foolish to imagine yourself in love, ha ha."

Hajime paled slightly before looking over at Hinata with a glum look on his face.

"Er, of course I wouldn't, you are right, father," He said uncomfortably before his face began to harden. "I forgive you and will let you have the privilege of becoming my wife."

Hinata and Hanabi and Neji all choked in outrage at the blatant hypocrisy of it all.

"Hajime, you have some nerve after spending the last few days with Yamanaka Ino. You are the adulterer, not Hinata." Neji accused him frigidly as he visibly contained himself from beating the hell out of him.

Hinata and Hanabi were still incensed that they were reduced to having such low value in the clan they were only considered to be fit to be fodder for marriage and breeding. All of their hard work and training meant nothing to these sexist pigs.

"Hajime is a man and his activities were not publicly bandied about in newspapers like Hinata's disgraceful behavior was." Saito-Hyuuga stated forcefully automatically protecting his son. "Her actions were much more damaging to the reputation of our clan."

Hinata and Hanabi looked around the room and saw all of the men were in agreement with him, except for their father who was looking at them with expectant eyes.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Hanabi stood up with a vial full of liquid in her hand and her eyes sparkled with a dangerous light.

She threw the vial playfully up in the air and just barely caught it with the tips of her fingers.

"What is in the vial Hanabi." Saito-Hyuuga asked her impatiently, thinking it was just one more reason to remove Hiashi from power. His offspring were clearly out of control.

"An antidote." Hanabi told them airily with a smirk on her face. "For the poison I had the branch members add to your food." She told them with a vicious spark lighting her eyes.

Horrified eyes became reluctantly respectful at her outmaneuvering of them. As they covered their mouths with their hands and clutched their stomachs they began to realize that she may just be a worthy successor after all. Her ruthlessness proved that she also took after her father.

"Release my sister from her obligations to the clan and I will allow each one of you to drink from the antidote."

Hinata stood up; her face was resolute as she stared at all of them with barely disguised disgust.

"Hanabi, give them the antidote, I will take care of this matter myself. I wish to invoke my right as clan heiress to refuse the orders of the clan and issue a challenge."

She turned to Hajime. "I-I challenge you to a fight; the winner chooses their own fate."

Hajime smirked in the way a person does when they have no fear whatsoever of losing. Over the years he had fought her several times and had never lost to her.

"Fine cousin, I accept." He told her with a dismissive grin on his face.

As Hinata turned away from him her eyes caught the look on her father's face. For once it held the look of approval as he looked at her. She realized this was what he had been wanting her to do all along.

_I won't let you down father_, Hinata thought to herself as she headed towards the family dojo.

Next to her Hanabi dropped the vial containing the antidote. "Oops." She said with a laugh as she watched it shatter and splash all of over the floor. A slow grin formed on her face as she watched all of the horrid old men run out of the conference room to find a bathroom.

Coming up beside her, Neji looked at Hanabi skeptically. "Did you really poison them?"

Hanabi's eyes were hard as she looked back at him with an evil smile.

"Of course I did, cousin."

**Author's Note:** I will have the next chapter out by tomorrow or Saturday. It will definitely be the last along with a small epilogue at the end. Thanks to everyone who left me feedback, I made an extra chapter because of your comments.


	21. Chapter 21

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Chapter 21~**

* * *

"It has begun, follow me," Neji told him with tight lips as he nodded to the branch member watching the gate to let him enter the compound.

Itachi nodded solemnly before following him into the compound toward the dojo. As he walked through the courtyard he saw several clansman standing anxiously around with their Byakugan activated watching the fight.

He realized that Hinata was valued by her people probably even more than she realized. These people were genuine in their concern for their young heiress.

As they stepped through the doorway, Itachi's sharp eyes noted several elder clansmen were throwing up in trash cans while others looked deathly pale.

Neji rolled his eyes and muttered only one word as an explanation. "Hanabi."

A flash of amusement touched his eyes as he saw her standing by the rail watching her sister fight.

Walking past the stunned elder statesmen who were in shock that _he_ would dare enter the premises during one of their sacred clan rituals, Itachi ignored them and stood in the vacant space next to Hanabi.

So intent on watching her sister and gripping the rail in front of her she barely noticed his presence next to her.

Staring into the middle of the huge dojo, Itachi's eyes rested on Hinata and saw there was an edginess about her that wasn't normally there. He could tell she was obviously upset about something. Scanning around he took in some of the unfriendly glances of the elders of her clan were giving her and felt his blood begin to boil.

"The elders were brutal towards her," Hanabi told him in a tight voice as she placed her hand around his for support. "I don't understand her...she never complains or defends herself, she just takes it."

"Hinata is strong," Itachi responded almost automatically in defense of her.

"She is holding back," Hanabi complained with an edge of frustration to her voice as she watched her sister ignore a blatant opening and back away rather than attacking. "Uhg, I wish she knew you were here…I don't think she would hold back then."

A few moments later, as though sensing his presence, Hinata saw Itachi standing next to Hanabi and felt elation run through her.

She wanted him here and wanted him to see her fight. Glancing over at him quickly, her eyes locked with his and danced with a primitive light.

_Watch me_, they clearly told him.

Attacking her with a smirk, Hajime snorted in contempt. "You're no different from all of the other pathetic fan-girls that chase after him and his brother."

Countering his attack, Hinata spun around, her indigo colored hair sprayed out like a fan behind her, and kicked him hard in the stomach and sent him sprawling on his butt.

"Maybe not," she admitted honestly as she watched him pick himself up off of the ground and dust himself off. "But I am the one he asked to marry him."

Sensing all of the eyes of her clan elders upon her with their judgmental and criticizing ways, all of the years of humiliation and abuse at their hands began to coil up within her. The final bitter straw was their treating her and Hanabi like dynastic marriage and breeding fodder, something within her finally snapped and she rushed at Hajime like a blur.

There would be no holding back anymore; it was time she showed all of them what she was made of.

Itachi felt Hanabi's hand grip his tightly with excitement as Hinata sprang into action and began pushing Hajime back by the sheer ferocity of her attacks.

As though flipping on a switch, she changed herself into someone he had never seen before. Though, instinctively he always knew she was capable of such a level, he had never witnessed it before.

Neither had anyone else.

The elders and her father began to watch her with similar expressions of shock on their face.

Itachi thought she was incredible and looked amazing. As though mesmerized, he couldn't take his eyes off of her as she began to kick some serious ass.

Hajime picked himself off of the ground and wiped the blood that was trickling from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and took in the intense look in Hinata's eyes and began feel some of his confidence slip away from him. He knew his father would not handle it well if he lost to a girl, especially one as pathetic as Hinata.

His mouth turned down with frustration when he noticed she had closed off some of his chakra points in his arms and body and he had barely even been able to make contact with her. Since the last time he fought her, she had gotten much stronger and seemed to have hidden reserves of chakra within her.

"You have been training with the Uchiha haven't you?" He sneered as he voiced his suspicion aloud.

Hinata smiled slightly as she moved forward and spun around him and reached over and closed off a chakra point in his neck.

"A little," she admitted as she watched him closely and saw he was beginning to tire a little. She, on the other hand, felt great, even with being exhausted yesterday with her medical exam, the ability to unlock hidden reserves of chakra that Itachi had taught her made her feel deliciously powerful.

Glancing over at his father, Hajime could see the old man was telling him to stop messing around and finish her off quickly. He was trying; he just couldn't land a hit on her.

Somehow the bitch was able to stay just out of his reach.

Hanabi watched her sister and the realization sank in that Hinata was far better than she was, she had been holding back on her all these years and letting her win.

Her eyes glittered with frustration and it made her feel like a fraud. It was as if this knowledge messed up the natural order of things in her life. Between the two of them, she had always been the strong one and Hinata was the kind one-that was the way it had been for years.

"She won't ever fight you for real, so don't ask her to do it, Hanabi," Itachi told her firmly, without looking at her as he continued to watch Hinata.

Hanabi sighed and knew he was right; Hinata would never put herself in a position where she could accidentally injure her.

"I know, she can't bring herself to hurt me," she admitted to him candidly. "It is just the ninja within me that wants to go all out against her and see who would come out on top."

Itachi turned to her with ANBU Captain eyes and Hanabi was a little taken back by the sheer penetrating weight of them.

"You will one day have the responsibility of your entire clan; you will find there are much more important things in life than winning."

Never having looked at it that way, Hanabi turned away from him with a small pout on her lips and resumed watching the fight in silence.

As she stood next to him, she wondered how her sister put up with someone who was so annoyingly right all the time.

Hinata dodged an off-balanced attack at her stomach and knew Hajime was becoming increasingly frustrated. She knew if she could just continue to avoid him and neutralize his height and strength advantage over her, she would be able to use her flexibility and speed to defeat him.

Feeling winded and angry at himself for letting the fight go on as long as it had, Hajime began to take riskier chances and at times attacked her almost blindly. The fear of losing to her was making him feel desperate…and pissed off.

I cannot lose to _her_—_she is so fucking weak_, he thought as his eyes began to narrow when he noticed she was not even out of breath.

Yelling out in frustration, he rushed at her and aimed for her chest, wanting to finish her off quickly. At the last moment he remembered Neji's warning to fight fairly or he was going to die, he changed directions and his blow glanced off her shoulder.

Hinata took advantage of his proximity and blocked a couple of chakra points at the base of his neck, paralyzing him on the right side. His eyes flew open in shock when he felt her fist bury itself in his stomach and he doubled over in pain and coughed out blood before the right-side of his body completely collapsed.

As he lay on the ground the painful realization hit him and hit him hard like a hundred pound kunai knife.

It was over and he had lost… and not to just _anyone_, he had lost to Hinata.

The weakest person in the clan leadership wasn't her—_it was him_.

Hinata leaned over him and did not gloat; in fact her eyes held an emotional and slightly angry look in them.

"The contract is broken, my sister and I are free from our obligations to you and your father," she told him in a shaky voice as she looked down at him with firm eyes.

Beyond caring about anyone or anything but his own humiliation, Hajime nodded tightly and closed his eyes in defeat.

Hinata looked around and saw the clan elders were now eyeing her with speculation as though they were already planning new ways to find a use for her. Now that they saw she wasn't as weak as they thought she was. She was valuable to them again.

Hiashi looked down on his daughter from the stands and for once was proud of her. Her level of skill far exceeded what he had thought she was capable of. In fact he was certain she was even stronger than Hanabi.

It was unsettling to him how little he knew her. She was his daughter, he should have known.

His eyes were almost apologetic as they looked at her.

"After today, you have earned the right to choose your own future. You have passed your rite of passage into the clan and can now be considered a full-fledged member," he told her in a voice that was a little less chilly than normal.

Hinata nodded and her eyes settled on Itachi, who immediately jumped down and joined her in the center of the dojo.

Hiashi turned toward the elders with an icy stare at all of them. "We have clan business to conclude inside," he told them collectively as he turned stiffly and began walking toward the conference hall. Unseen by all, a small smile of victory began to spread over his face.

Neji jumped out of the stands near Hajime and unblocked the chakra coil near his neck. Hajime screamed out in pain.

"Get up Hajime, it is time you start earning your place on the council," Neji told him with hard eyes.

"Why would I help you?" Hajime sneered with a confused look on his face. "If I side with you I will be going against my father." His eyes veered toward the door and saw his father had left him without even checking to see if he was okay.

Neji pulled him up and began forcing him to walk. "Because idiot, the time has come for you to decide which side you are on…."

Standing near them Itachi eyed Hajime with a look that told him he was only alive because he chose not to attack Hinata in a vital area.

Beginning to sweat profusely, Hajime turned away and began to limp away next to Neji.

"You fought well," Itachi told her warmly as he applied healing chakra to a bruise on her cheek. Hinata closed her eyes and leaned toward him, she felt herself begin to calm down. He began messaging her shoulders with his other hand.

Hinata thought it felt lovely. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him and the question she has had in the back of her mind surfaced.

"Um, Itachi…how did you know I was going to end up fighting my cousin?"

The corners of his mouth turned up in a knowing smile and looked away from her. "When I was in your father's office I figured out your father was only using the marriage as a way to force you as his heir to help him with a problem with his council. When Sasuke and I picked up your cousin from his village, my suspicions were confirmed."

"Ah…so that is why you were giving me extra training…" She told him as she figured out what he had been up to.

"Yes," he responded with an almost guilty look on his face.

Her face became taut with emotion as she thought about the council.

"I-I was glad for your help,… they are horrid men and they have been blocking my father from removing me as his heir. They wanted to keep me in place to weaken him and Elder Saito-Hyuuga wanted me to marry his son and try to take my father's place. Either my sister or I was to be used to keep the bloodline pure," she told him and couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. "Our ninja skills meant nothing to them."

"Hinata, you are needed in the conference room?" Hanabi's loud and impatient voice interrupted them as she poked her head through the main door of the dojo.

"Ok Hanabi, I will be there in a moment."

"I will wait for you, I have something important I need to discuss with you." Itachi told her with a serious look in his eyes.

Hinata searched his eyes for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Behind the main house is my garden, I will meet you there after the meeting." She told him as she reached out placing her hand in his as they walked out of the dojo.

After she showed him where the garden was, she moved to walk away from him, he pulled her against him with a firm look in his eyes.

"Stay strong; you have the advantage right now."

Grateful for his support, Hinata nodded with a resolute look on her face and began heading in the direction of the conference room.

oooOOOooo

"Glad you could join us," Saito-Hyuuga said to her sarcastically as she entered the conference room. He glanced from her to his son with a scornful and incredulous look on his face. He was still in shock that his son lost to a kunoichi and a damn weak one at that.

Hinata looked around and noticed several chairs were empty; a light entered her eyes as she looked over at Hanabi.

"My apologies for making you wait, Elder Saito-Hyuuga-san," Hinata responded politely as she sat down.

"Now that Hinata is back we will continue with the meeting," Hiashi ordered from his seat at the head of the table.

"We are missing several members; I would like to request a recess until they are well enough to return," Elder Saito-Hyuuga stated with an edge of desperation in his voice.

"No." Hiashi denied his request flatly. "The meeting will continue with the council members that are present."

Hiashi crowed to himself inwardly as he watched his rival gnash his teeth. Saito-Hyuuga had used this tactic on him at the last meeting and he lost an important agenda item by two votes because a few of his supporters had to leave due to a mysterious illness.

"Fine." Saito-Hyuuga snapped insolently as he mentally counted the supporters he had left in the room and felt his stomach sink when he saw there was only a few of them.

"Hinata, you may address the council and give us your request." Hiashi told her from his place at the head of the table.

Hinata stood up and squared her shoulders as she looked at the very pale elders that still remained in the room. It comforted her to see her cousin Neji sitting next to Hajime and Hanabi, who discreetly gave her the thumbs up sign.

"Thank you father," she began…"I would like to admonish the elders that are present, before I make my request known… I was sickened today as I listened to your speeches about the glories of the Hyuuga name and ancestry. Because in all of those speeches there was no mention of the village, you have all sworn to protect. You have all forgotten that we are Leaf Ninjas first and clan members second. For that reason, I have wished for the last two years to step down as heir and let my sister take my place."

Hinata looked at her father and she was taken aback by the look on his face.

He was actually proud of her.

"Hinata your request is granted, is there any opposition to her request?"

Hiashi looked around and saw only two hands up, Saito-Hyuuga and Elder Kaito. Hajime kept his hand down and stared out moodily in front of him.

"Hajime." His father snapped.

"No father, I see I am no longer of any use to you and that you were only using me," Hajime told him as he took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions. "I wish to remain neutral."

"Fine, have it your way." His father gritted out between clenched teeth.

"Your request to remain neutral is granted, Hajime." Hiashi granted with a benevolent nod and counted the hands that were raised.

"It is approved, Hinata may step down as heir and Hanabi will take her place."

"Thank you father, I would like to request one more thing before I step down," Hinata asked him as her eyes glanced toward Hajime's father.

"You may proceed."

Hinata took a deep breath, "I move to remove Elder Saito-Hyuuga as Chief Elder and have Hyuuga Neji take his place." She said as she looked at Neji and held back a smile at the look of surprise on his face.

"Excellent suggestion, I second it." Hiashi said approvingly and looked to the elders. "Is there any opposition to this request?"

Elder Hyuuga Kaito stood up for his friend. "He is too young and has only been on the council for one year. Neji is not eligible to become Chief Elder."

Next to him Elder Saito-Hyuuga smiled grimly and tapped his pen against the table. "He is correct, the clan by-laws clearly state a member must be on the council for a minimum of two years, Hiashi. Hyuuga Neji is not eligible."

"I would like to make an exception as Clan Leader. Neji shall be Chief Elder on the council." Hiashi stated firmly and looked over at Hanabi and hoped she knew what he needed her to do.

"As Clan Heir, I move to second it," she responded with challenging eyes directed at the defeated man.

Elder Saito-Hyuuga gnashed his teeth as he lowered the gavel for the last time. "Done, Hyuuga Neji is now the Chief Elder."

"I resign from the council and would like to retire," he said in a defeated voice accepting he had been outmaneuvered by his rival.

"Permission granted, your resignation is accepted," Hiashi stated coolly and watched as his rival stood up slowly and left the room.

"Hanabi, you may address the council," Hiashi told his youngest daughter with a hint of amusement lurking in the back of his eyes.

Hinata shared a nervous look with Neji as they watched Hanabi stand up.

Standing up tall and looking much more mature than fourteen years old, she stared at the remaining elders around the table one by one, memorizing their faces.

"Understand this, earlier today, all of you made a grave mistake in the way you treated my sister. Unlike her, I am neither forgiving, nor am I kind. By the time my father retires as clan leader and I move to take his place, I expect all of you old timers to be either dead or retired. I don't care which one comes first. If you are still on the council by the time I take over, I promise you…I will find a way to eliminate you," she threatened them in a deadly calm voice and her eyes told them she meant it.

Pulling out another vial of antidote, she tossed it in the air towards one of the old clan elders.

"Here, fight over it," she told them with harsh laugh as they all began fighting over and it ended up dropping it in the middle of the table and it splashed all over everyone. Seeing their remaining hope of being cured was lost, the elders all ran out of the room toward the hospital.

Hinata leaned over and whispered in Hanabi's ear and began to grin hugely as her sister exploded in outrage.

"Dammit Hinata, stop trying to protect me! I wanted some of those old codgers to die!"

Laughing happily and feeling light and free for the first time in a long time, Hinata ran out of the room to find Itachi.

oooOOOooo

Still laughing, Hinata spotted Itachi resting underneath a tree on the edge of her garden and plopped down next to him.

"What is so funny?" He asked her as he suddenly pulled her onto his lap.

Taking a deep breath and trying to hold back the insane laughter that was threatening to burst out of her, Hinata looked up at him and told him how Hanabi had poisoned the council member's lunch earlier in the day.

She began laughing again and Itachi raised an eyebrow slightly confused, as he couldn't understand what she could possibly find to be amusing about that.

Hinata bit her lip and looked away with a slightly guilty and rueful look on her face. "I knew she was up to something when she mentioned she had a back-up plan for the meeting and at the last minute I took the poison she had given the cooks to add to their food and gave them some vials of ipecac syrup that induces vomiting…and horrible stomach cramps instead." She told him with a satisfied laugh, proud of herself for keeping her sister from ending up a murderer.

Itachi watched her and his black eyes began to become speculative and pensive as he stared at her.

Concerned, she stopped laughing and looked up at him as she remembered he had wanted to talk to her about something important.

"Itachi? What is the matter?"

He sighed uncomfortably before looking away from her. "Tell me what kind of life you envision us having in the future?" He asked her quietly.

A shiver of dread passed over her as she had a feeling he had something unpleasant to tell her. Gripping his hand tighter, she determined in her mind she would support him—no matter what the problem was.

"Well, I see us both remaining active ninjas after we marry. I will assist your mother with taking care of all of the families in your clan, making sure all of their needs are met," she told him hesitantly with a slightly far-away look on her face as she thought about their future.

"My mother would appreciate your help," he told her with a warm smile that began to melt her insides like butter.

"And um,…I see us having a couple of children…" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes and knew life could hold no greater joy than to be able to hold a baby boy that looked just like him in her arms.

"That would be acceptable to me…perhaps we could put that on hold for a while though," he stated with a slight frown as though considering something.

Hinata was relieved that he at least wasn't against having children, she smiled shyly up at him. "I am fine with that; it will give us a chance to get used to being…married."

Itachi gave her a look that made her feel weak in the knees. "I am sure being married to you will not be difficult to adjust to at all," he told her with teasing eyes before hauling her tightly against him and kissing the smile off of her face.

"What else do you see for us?" He pressed her as he lifted his mouth off of hers and put some distance between them.

Hinata sighed happily, enjoying that all of those horrible family obligations were finally behind them. She remembered how she used to naively dream about marrying Naruto and helping him learn proper manners and etiquette after he became Hokage.

A relieved smile formed on her face as she was grateful Naruto was probably going to be Hokage someday and not Itachi. After dealing with clan politics and the awful scheming and duplicity of it all, she couldn't even imagine the type of horrible things she would have to deal with being married to someone who was the Hokage.

Hinata decided to ignore his question and ask her one of her own.

"Itachi, what is going on?"

His eyes searched hers and knew he just had to tell her, putting it off wouldn't solve anything. He just hoped she was ready for it.

"The Hokage asked me to take her place when she retires at the end of the year. I told her I needed to talk to you first before accepting her offer."

Hinata blinked and looked to see if he was messing with her at all and found of course, his eyes were serious.

The first thought that ran through her head was denial.

She had always known Itachi's name had was on an unofficial list of people being talked about to replace Tsunade when she stepped down, but like most people she assumed Naruto ultimately was the one who was going to become Hokage.

Then came shock and horrified laughter.

Out of all of the people in the world to fall in love with, she kept falling for people who were on the edge of the Hokage's office.

_I must be insane!_

Finally came acceptance.

After all, as she looked up into his dark eyes, she knew that giving him up was not an option. Not now-not ever! The price they both would pay would be just too high. Itachi was made for greatness, if she wanted to be part of his life she would just have to accept everything that came with him.

Even if it meant becoming the wife of a Hokage.

Smiling as sincerely as she could, she told him.

"I think you should tell her yes."

**Author's Note:** Sorry to leave you with a cliffie, but I really wanted to post something. This is not the last chapter after all. I have some of the last one written and it is so different from this chapter I thought it was just too much of an abrupt change to post them together. It is much, much lighter compared to this chapter lol. Anyway, I should be posting it within a few days. Even though I really want to finish this story soon and get working on my other fics- I don't want to rush it too much. Thanks so much to everyone who left me feedback. Lol Blackmoon124, you are right, of course, it is illegal to poison people even in the Narutoverse, but Hinata was looking out for her little sis. The rest of you guys are a pretty bloodthirsty lot, ha ha.


	22. Chapter 22

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**Chapter 22**

**[Humble narrator:]**

In years past, Hyuuga Valentine's Day parties were always synonymous with class, fine dining, understated and refined elegance. This year was to be a little different…

Hanabi was in charge, so refined elegance could now be called, teen-aged frat party, planned by someone with too much money to spend and not enough parental supervision.

Um…yes, that about sums up this year's event…so, on with the festivities…

* * *

**[One hour before the party-Hyuuga Mansion]**

"Um Hanabi...what is a… pony doing in the ballroom?" Hinata asked her sister as she looked around the room with all of its loud decorations and felt a headache coming on.

"Father wouldn't let me have one at my birthday party last year, so I went ahead and bought him," Hanabi replied with a mulish look on her face as she patted the white pony on the neck.

"Isn't that right, Death-star, you belong to me now… and _no one_ is going to take you away from me," she cooed possessively as she nuzzled her face in the pony's soft mane.

"Hanabi, you know father does not allow animals in the house..." Hinata began patiently, but stopped mid-sentence when her sister lips began to tighten ominously. After the drama she dealt with this morning, she decided to let her father deal with her little sister's moods.

Backing away from Hanabi toward the punch bowl, she looked around the room and noticed there was not an elegant ice sculpture or delicate orchid in sight. Instead there were bright pink and red streamers and hearts sparkling with glitter with arrows through them, hanging randomly from the ceiling. Putting a weary hand on her forehead, she didn't want to even think about how her sister got them up there.

Horrified mirth struck her when she saw a hallway of ante-rooms off of the ballroom was designated as the "Red Hot Tunnel of Love!"

_Oh no Hanabi! What is father going to say?_

She was tugging on her sister's shirt sleeve trying to get her attention away from the pony to talk to her about the sign, when their father stepped into the room.

"Hanabi, get that filthy animal outside," he snapped irritably as he looked around the room and the decorations with disgust and a shudder as that pony with red demon eyes reminded him uncomfortably of the deer at the Nara compound.

Staring balefully around the room, his eyes landed on the sign and stopped before opening wide in horror.

"What… the hell is that?" He choked out as he pointed towards the hallway with a shaky hand.

Hanabi looked at him with innocent eyes and a small shake of her head, just before she blamed it all on her sister.

"W-ell, Hinata told me every effort should be made to anticipate the needs of the guests, so I assumed with it being Valentine's Day that…"

"You assumed incorrectly," he interrupted her with hard accusatory stare directed at Hinata for being a bad influence on her sister.

Hanabi grinned slyly as Hinata spluttered out that Hanabi had misinterpreted her advice.

"Take that sign down immediately," he ordered one of the branch family members before leaving the room.

Hanabi immediately intercepted the branch member and told him to leave it where it was. Not wanting to disobey the new heiress, he did what he was told.

* * *

Back in her bedroom, Hinata spun around in the mirror and thought she looked decent enough in the shimmering silver and lilac dress. Around her neck she wore her mother's fabulous diamonds, her father had finally considered her worthy enough to wear.

Looking in the mirror she saw a stray hair had fallen out of her elaborately pinned up hair-style. After deftly pinning it up with the rest of her hair, she made her way out toward the main foyer, knowing their guests would be arriving soon.

As soon as she stepped into the hallway she saw the Naras and several others she knew were already heading into the ballroom. Coming through the front door was Mikoto and Fugaku, followed closely by Sasuke and Shisui and his wife, Ami… _without the babies_, she thought a little thankfully. For once, she thought it would be nice to stay clean and dry throughout the evening.

After a casual glance she had to admit they were an exceptionally good-looking family with their shining dark hair and nearly black eyes. They were all dressed in black formal wear; next to them she couldn't help but feel a little washed out and colorless. Especially standing next to her father who was dressed in his formal white clan robes.

Watching her father greet them, she realized that it had been many years since the whole family entered their home and a sense of happiness filled her as she watched her father talk to Fugaku and Mikoto like the old friends they were.

Frowning slightly she wondered where Itachi was, he was supposed to come with them tonight.

"Oh Hinata, you look so lovely. That dress looks stunning on you," Mikoto said in awed tones as she came up to her and made her spin around in front of everyone.

Blushing profusely as several eyes all at once turned towards her, Hinata did her best to keep herself composed. "Um, thanks…you look very nice too."

Mikoto grinned and looked a great deal more calm and relaxed than Hinata had seen her in days. "Thanks dear, just a little something I picked up while we were helping you find your dress."

Hinata was just about to ask her where Itachi was when Sasuke walked by her and stated in a bored voice. "Itachi will be here soon, he had to stop by ANBU Headquarters and deal with something."

"Thank you, Sasuke," Hinata told him with a relieved smile.

He nodded before he headed into the ballroom with all of the enthusiasm of someone about to face a firing squad. As soon as he entered the room he was immediately besieged by loud and annoying fan-girls.

Hearing the unusually loud music coming from the ballroom, Mikoto looked at Hinata with questioning eyes.

"Hanabi thought last's years ball was boring, so she changed things up a little," Hinata told her unnecessarily as she followed her to the entrance.

Upon seeing the darkened and garishly decorated ballroom with a huge disco ball in the center and Hanabi brazenly riding around on a black pony with a cupid's mask on her face, Mikoto choked back a peal of laughter. "I bet your father is ready to die of embarrassment because of this."

Hinata giggled and hid a secret smile. "He refuses to even come to the party," she told her as sure enough she watched her father leading Fugaku out to his greenhouse to show him a new strain of grass seed he had been working on.

* * *

Itachi wasn't in the best of moods as he entered the Hyuuga compound dressed in formal evening wear. It had irritated him that the problem over at ANBU took far longer than he had anticipated and ended making him late for the party.

Seeing all of the people milling about and the loud music and decorations, he wasn't too upset about missing that, he just wanted to see her. After spending almost three full days constantly in her presence, he could no longer deny that he liked having her close to him. When she wasn't with him, he felt restless and edgy. There was a place within him that only she could fill.

Sensing her presence in the dining room, he immediately headed over there and saw her standing in the center of the service staff competently relaying orders to them.

As itachi waited and watched her, he felt some of the tension leave him, eclipsed by a sense of calm and peace.

He was with her again.

Hinata dismissed the servants and told them to begin setting out the buffet for the guests. A deep sense of joy unfolded over her as she had a very good idea of who was standing behind her. The admiring looks on several faces told her who it was long before she sensed his presence.

Turning around with a radiant smile on her face, she soon forgot all of the people around them when she saw the way he was watching her and ran across the room and launched herself in his arms.

Ever conscious of the people watching them, Itachi pulled her outside the door and with infinite tenderness he pressed her against the wall. As he looked down at her his eyes lingered over her face in a light caress as she eagerly placed her hands around his face pulling him down towards her.

A smile touched his mouth just before he began to kiss her with increasing hunger. Needing to be even closer to him, she leaned up on her toes, arching her body as she pressed herself against him.

Hinata lost all sense of reality as she clung to him. It seemed all too soon when he pulled away from her and she saw guests were beginning to walk toward the dining room to begin dishing up their food.

Gasping for breath, Hinata turned away from everyone and noted a little exasperated that Itachi somehow had already gotten himself under control. After a few deep breaths she turned to her fiancé with her social mask reluctantly back in place.

Itachi watched her with admiration, he had to admit, she knew the rules as well as he did and greeting each other so exuberantly in public, just wasn't done.

Sighing as she risked a glance over at him and thought he looked insanely handsome in his black evening wear. As Hinata felt her treacherous pulse began to race out of control again, she wondered how they were going to manage waiting to be together for two whole months.

Her father had given her permission this afternoon to marry him and for once seemed to be almost proud of her. He told her it would take at least a couple of months to send out invitations and make all of the preparations for the elaborate wedding ceremony. Reluctantly she had agreed to the date her father set for their wedding, she just had a feeling Itachi wasn't going to be too happy about it.

She placed her hand gently on his outstretched arm and decided to talk to him about it tomorrow. Her mind made up, she decided she was going to have fun tonight.

"Shall we?" He asked her politely.

"Yes, I am starving."

After they both loaded up their plates full of food, Hinata looked around at all of the tables and saw there were already a ton of people in the room, she took him outside to a small patio in her garden and they sat down on a bench.

Delicate paper lanterns hung from various areas around the patio and provided a romantic setting as the sun was just beginning to go down. Shivering slightly in her thin evening gown as a slight breeze brushed over them, Hinata edged closer toward Itachi to keep warm.

In the corner of her eye, Hinata spotted a movement and chuckled with long suffering shake of her head when she saw it was Hanabi's pony wandering around unattended. She rolled her eyes in exasperation when she saw it was eating some of her flowers.

Turning towards Itachi with amused eyes Hinata smile soon became a frown when she noticed he was staring away from her and seemed to be deep in thought.

Not wishing to disturb him, she focused her attention on finishing the food on her plate. After a while she set her plate down and finished drinking her tea, when she felt his eyes were on her.

"Itachi?" She asked him as she felt him pick up her hand and hold it almost absently. His eyes were intense as he stared at her, yet Hinata was surprised he was also unusually hesitant.

"Hinata, I…" Itachi began, before stopping after seeing several couples suddenly come out through the back door.

She looked at him apologetically before picking up her plate and standing up. "Let's go inside…I can find us some place where we can… talk in private," she told him with a slightly uneasy expression on her face hoping he didn't have anything bad to tell her. After all of the horrible stuff she had to deal with earlier in the day she didn't think she could handle anything else tonight.

She just wanted to have fun and enjoy being with him. Especially now that she was free, they didn't need to hide their relationship anymore.

"It can wait…I would rather dance with you," he told with a quiet smile that completely unnerved her and at the same time warmed her because she knew he had picked up her unspoken request to not talk about anything serious with her tonight.

Hinata's smile was as dazzling as it was grateful as she looked up at him, "I would love to dance with you."

As they headed toward the ballroom, Hinata felt strangely light and free for the first time in a long while. It was beginning to dawn on her that she no longer had the crippling weight of the clan on her shoulders and she was now free to marry the man she adored with an intensity that often surprised her.

It also felt nice that for once, her clan approved of her and they actually thought she was strong. It was a heady experience for her to have so many things that were actually going right for her. She almost didn't know how to handle it and soon anxious thoughts began to enter her head.

Ruthlessly pushing the dark thoughts away she moved closer to him and smiled at him when he looked at her with reassuring eyes and kissed her hand.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them she saw several people were watching them a little fascinated to see Uchiha Itachi behave so out of character for him. Konoha's gossip mill was here in full force but Hinata had moved past the point where she cared what people said about them.

They were in love and she didn't care if the whole world knew it.

Itachi was just about to pull her on the dance floor when Shisui, who was dancing with his wife suddenly whisked her away from him. Hinata looked over Shisui's shoulder at him with laughing, apologetic eyes as she allowed his cousin to spin her around the dance floor.

Standing on the outskirts of the dance floor next to Shisui's wife, Ami, Itachi, hid his irritation and did the polite thing and asked her to dance.

Ami smiled and realized it had been a long time since she had a chance to talk to Itachi alone, jumped at the chance to dance with him. She was around the same age as him and had been friends with him and Shisui since they were young. Like most girls her age, she had once had a huge crush on him but he had never even shown the slightest interest in her.

Itachi very formally led her onto the dance floor and they danced in silence as he kept his eyes mostly focused on Hinata. It was beginning to tick him off at how close his married cousin was dancing to her.

Knowing he was being very impolite, he made an attempt to talk to Ami.

"How is your pregnancy going?"

Ami glared over at her laughing husband and thought about how most of the time he irritated her so much she wanted to smack his stupid face. She felt sick most mornings and the twins were starting to get into everything—all the time. Her pregnancy was actually pretty miserable right now, but she was not about to admit all of that to Itachi of all people.

"It's going great; we are really excited about the new baby," she lied with fake smile planted firmly on her face.

Itachi stared at her for a moment and saw some of the misery in her eyes but wisely did not mention it. He knew from experience in dealing with other pregnant women in his clan that showing sympathy could lead to crying and this was not the appropriate place for that.

They danced in silence and Itachi noticed Hinata had put some distance between her and Shisui as they danced and she appeared to be having a serious conversation with him. He felt himself relax a little when he saw his cousin was no longer behaving improperly with his future wife.

He turned his eyes back to Ami.

"Why her?" Ami asked curiously as she glanced over toward Hinata. "Out of all of the girls in the village, why did you choose her?"

Itachi's eyes fell on Hinata as he considered the question and he had no real answer other than with her quiet, peaceful ways, she was a perfect fit for him. In almost every part of his life that mattered…she seemed to understand him and the way his brain worked.

"She suits me," he told her with a closed expression on his face letting her know he didn't want to talk about the subject any longer.

As they danced in silence, Ami couldn't help feel slightly jealous as she noticed the way Itachi kept constant watch over the Hyuuga girl. Even though she loved her husband and most of the time was happy with him, a part of her always looked at Itachi as being the impossible dream that no girl would ever be able to attain. Like most people she had thought that he would never marry.

"I have a confession…" she told him as her lips curved into an embarrassed smile. "If you would have even shown the slightest interest in me… I would have chosen you over Shisui."

Itachi looked down at her and saw the truth in her dark eyes. Growing up, he had been aware of her interest in him, but she had always been off limits, because he knew Shisui wanted her, so he never even considered going out with her. Besides, her temper was not something he would have ever been able to tolerate.

"Shisui always wanted you," he told her simply, knowing that his explanation was enough. It had to be, because that was all he was going to give her.

Ami's eyes softened suddenly as she looked over at her husband. Realizing that her and Itachi would have never worked out anyway, he was way too unemotional and never laughed.

Shisui was charming and even when she was mad at him, he made her laugh. Suddenly, she began to see Itachi was a real person and not just some unattainable fantasy her and the other girls in the village thought he was. She had even heard through clan gossip that the Hyuuga girl was actually seen laughing at something he had said.

Her eyes were sincere and when she looked up at him.

"I know Shisui has always loved me and while our marriage far from perfect, I realize he was the right one for me after all," she told him with a relieved laugh knowing that her secret infatuation with him all these years was probably harming her marriage. "Itachi, I hope you will be happy with her, she seems to be very nice."

Itachi's dragged his eyes off of his fiancé long enough to give Ami a slight smile.

"Thank you Ami."

After the dance ended Itachi escorted Ami over to her husband and watched as she whispered something in Shisui's ear just before he let out an exuberant laugh and began pulling by the her hand into one of the anti-rooms.

Turning his eyes back on Hinata his jaw clenched slightly when he saw her team-mate from the Inuzuka clan lead her out on the dance floor. Sighing and beginning to get annoyed, he kept a silent vigil against the wall as he waited for Hinata to finish her dance and come back to him.

"So, what are you doing with the Uchiha? I thought you liked Naruto," Kiba began grilling her with a puzzled and annoyed expression on his face.

"I broke up with Naruto a few weeks ago…" she responded patiently with a sigh and a glance over at Itachi who was waiting for her against the wall. "I became friends with Itachi and we just started dating."

Kiba rolled his eyes as he looked over at the elder Uchiha brother standing against the wall, who was beginning to attract females of all ages to him like fleas on a dog. Besides their obvious looks, Kiba couldn't for the life of him understand what women saw in him and his brother. They were both a couple of stuck up jerks, in his opinion.

"How could you even date a guy like that Hinata? He is like a human block of ice. The way he looks at people when he talks to them is so cold and lifeless. He reminds me of Shino, but without the bugs." Kiba told her with an exaggerated shudder.

Hinata's eyes immediately darted toward the corner where Itachi was waiting for her and smiled secretly to herself when she saw the way he was watching her was much different from the way he looked at other people. His eyes were warm and protective as they kept watch over her and she thought of how she felt so loved and protected when his arms were around her holding her close to him.

To her, he was not a block of ice; instead whenever they were together she felt a fire between them that at times was so overwhelming it threatened to consume them.

While Kiba's words angered her a little, she also saw the truth in them, and part of her began to see that maybe Itachi did need her a little, to help him in his job as Hokage. He _was_ unapproachable and found it hard to trust people; maybe she could help be the bridge that brought him closer to the villagers he would take an oath to protect.

The realization that she could be useful to him as he served as the Hokage made her feel a whole lot better about their future together. She began to see many ways she could improve the lives of the people around her and it filled her with a sense of purpose that she desperately needed.

She looked up at Kiba with gratitude in her eyes which completely baffled him.

"Kiba, we are getting married," she told him in a soft but firm voice as her eyes lovingly glanced over at Itachi.

Kiba frowned as he looked down as he looked back over at the Uchiha and saw him, with icy formality, turn down several offers to dance in the space of a half a minute.

_How could someone as nice as Hinata love someone like him?_

"Are you sure Hinata?" He asked her as he stared down at her with a worried expression. Part of him was slightly jealous as he had been planning to make his move on her after she figured out Naruto was all wrong for her. Now he knew he would never get a chance, he was too late.

"Yes Kiba, I am sure."

Kiba turned to look at Itachi and saw the clear message in his eyes and gulped nervously as he immediately put more space in between him and Hinata and raised his hand higher on her back.

He began to feel a little bit better now that he knew the Uchiha was serious about Hinata and wasn't just using her. His team-mate was very important to him, he just wanted to see her happy.

"I'm glad Hinata," Kiba told her before handing her off to Shino who had just come up to them at the end of the dance.

Looking over Shino's shoulder as she danced with him, she sent Itachi a helpless grin that told him how much she wished it was him she was dancing with…

* * *

Drowning his sorrows with alcohol, Hajime sat at the bar Hanabi had the branch members set up at one end of the ball-room and kept glancing over at his father who was sitting several barstools away. He felt betrayed, as he had practically worshiped the man growing up. Cradling his head in his hands he still couldn't believe his father didn't give a crap about him.

_Bastard_, he thought as he glared at his old man out of pain-filled eyes.

"I am sorry, son," Saito-Hyuuga said quietly as he got up from his barstool sat on the one next to his son.

"I took a gamble and I lost, I don't blame you for it. Hiashi's daughters are as treacherous as the rest of the main house. It was obvious Hinata was only pretending to be weak all these years…I still can't believe the bitch was that strong."

Hajime stared straight ahead and took a long swig of his sake. "Thank you father," He told him gratefully, and was glad things were back to normal between them. "I agree with you about Hinata, I think she had only been pretending to be nice and weak…you are right-all women are shallow bitches that cannot be trusted."

Saito-Hyuuga was going to answer his son but was interrupted when a stunning looking blonde girl dressed in the tightest looking aqua colored; spandex ball-gown he had ever seen. Her long blonde hair tossed back and forth as she stormed up to his son and stood in front of him with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Hajime, I have been looking for you everywhere," she told him as she poked him hard in the chest.

"Well, he-re I am," Hajime slurred out unsteadily as he nervously took another drink of his sake.

Ino smacked the drink out of hand. "Ew gross, you're drinking sake! You remind me of Sakura, she started drinking sake just because the Hokage likes it…uhg, she is such a poser!" She complained as she watched the drink splatter and drip all over the bar.

Hajime watched her with blurry vision and unconsciously felt himself begin to weaken around her. He realized that while she may not be trustworthy or even nice, she was still the hottest, most beautiful kunoichi he had ever met.

Ino grabbed his collar and dragged him off the bar stool. "You're coming with me," she told him as she slammed him hard against the wall.

"_It is_ not over between us," Ino told him firmly as she pressed herself against him. Her face was only inches from his.

"Yes it is… I cannot trust you," Hajime responded unsteadily as he blinked his eyes because he was seeing two of her.

"It will be over _only_ when I say it is," she told him in a bossy voice as her eyes flashed with a scary light. "I have never been dumped, and I am not about to start now."

Hajime knew he had no defenses against her, especially when he looked over at his father who clearly approved of his taste in women, even if he wouldn't want his son to marry someone like her.

"Fine, but I won't marry you," he stated in a loud voice for the benefit of his father.

Ino began laughing in disbelief, "Well, of course we aren't going to get married. Ha, ha, ha." She ran a well-manicured finger down his chest. "You are very traditional, aren't you?"

Momentarily sober, Hajime stood up ram-rod straight. "I am a Hyuuga, of course, I am traditional."

"I don't want to get married, you idiot,"she said with a roll of her eyes and a tinkling laugh. "I just want to hang out like we did before until I get tired of you, then I will toss you aside for someone I like better."

Hajime looked at her and a sly grin began to form on his face, she was so much like him it was scary. He tried to be cool as he shrugged nonchalantly, "Sounds good to me."

"Fine, then come dance with me," Ino told him with a victorious grin as she pulled him out onto the dance floor. Unfortunately for him, he was not too steady on his feet and on the way there he slipped on some droppings left on the floor from Hanabi's pony and banged his head hard on the floor, knocking him out cold.

Sighing at how freaking pathetic he was, Ino slapped him a few times trying to get him to wake up. When he didn't, she figured now was as good of a time as any to dump him. As she stood up her eyes began to light up dangerously when she saw something hideously evil was taking place across the ballroom.

Sakura was standing next to Sasuke trying to get him to dance with her.

_That bitch!_

Stepping over Hajime with complete indifference, she marched over to remind Sasuke he still owed her a date. If nothing else he at least owed her a dance for helping his mother. Like a warrior preparing for battle, her fists began to clench tightly as she looked at Sakura.

_Sasuke doesn't belong to you._

"Hello Sasuke-kun," she greeted him brightly as she stood in front of him. "Sakura," Ino ground out through clenched teeth.

Sasuke ignored her, so did Sakura with a smirk on her face.

Undaunted, Ino pressed on and moved closer to him.

"Sasuke, your mother promised me you would go out with you if I helped with Hinata's cousin," Ino reminded him with melting eyes.

"Uh, no," he stated bluntly with a shudder before walking away.

Sakura, holding a glass of sake in her hand looked at her friend with daggers in her eyes. "See what you did, Ino-pig? You chased him away."

Ino leaned against the wall and watched Sasuke go stand next to his brother.

"What does it matter, he doesn't like either of us," she said in a deflated voice as she released a frustrated breath.

Recognizing the truth in her friend's words Sakura sighed, "I know. I have tried everything to get him to like me and he still only puts up with me because I am his team-mate."

Ino's eyes landed on Itachi as he watched Hinata dance with one of her team-mates. The way he looked at her shy friend made her think of something…

"I wonder if Sasuke is like his brother and only likes quiet girls, like Hinata," she said thinking out loud as she watched Hinata's gentle smile and blush as she danced with Shino.

A militant light entered Sakura's eyes as they pinned down on Sasuke like a laser. She clamped her mouth shut and glared at Ino with a challenge clearly issued within them. Ino shut her mouth even tighter with an answering smile on her face.

_Oh palease Forehead, there is no way you can out-quiet me, I mean, even your freakin hair is loud._

The two of them stared at each other in tense silence with an occasional furtive glance directed at Sasuke to see if he noticed how quiet and calm they were acting. After about five minutes Sakura couldn't stand it anymore and began to walk quickly over towards Sasuke.

"Oi Sasuke, look how quiet and unassuming I am acting tonight," she yelled out loudly trying to get his attention as she glanced out of the corner of her eyes to see if Ino was following her.

Right behind her, Ino squeaked out in outrage, "Hey Billboard Brow, that was my idea—you loud bitch."

"Don't listen to her Sasuke," Ino told him with a sweet smile on her face. "I can be waaaay more quiet than she can!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes in disgust. "Hmpf, the two of you make the Dobe seem quiet," he told them before walking over towards his idiot team-mate who was across the room telling Iruka-sensei about the last mission Team Seven had been on with lots of arm flailing and wild hand gestures.

Just before Sasuke got there one of Naruto's misdirected arm flailings accidently knocked a large tray of drinks out of one of the waiter's hands and it hit the floor with a resounding crash. Loud apologies soon turned into arguing as the waiter was pissed and lectured him to watch what he was doing.

Seeing this situation appeared to be equally annoying as the one he had just left, he looked around a little desperately and couldn't find anyone who wasn't a pain in the ass to hang out with.

Sasuke's glance fell on Tenten and he noted for once she was alone. For most of the night she had been hanging out with her team-mates. He had also seen her dance once with the son of an ambassador from the Hidden Rain.

As he was heading in her direction, he almost decided to just go home, when he saw his mother was making a determined beeline in his direction. His lips tightened into a thin line when he saw she was dragging one of her friend's daughters behind her to introduce to him.

With a sigh of annoyance, he chose to go talk to Tenten. At least he could tolerate her and she had felt sort of nice in his arms when he had danced with her the other night…

When he stood before her, he looked at her with a silent plea in his dark eyes to help him as he sensed his mother was still heading toward him.

"Tenten, dance with me," he stated bluntly, his eyes added the word please to soften his bluntness. As he waited for her to answer him, his eyes gazed over her slowly with growing interest as he thought she looked unusually pretty in her light blue dress with her soft brown hair flowing down her back.

Tenten looked at him and kept her face carefully neutral as she saw his mother bearing down upon them. She had watched him for most of the evening and seen how callous and rude he was to every female that approached him and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Her eyes were deliberately cool and dismissive when she finally looked at him.

"No, I'd rather not. You are just not my type," she said rejecting him firmly as she turned away from him and walked away.

Stunned, Sasuke's jaw dropped open for just a moment before he closed it and began to scowl. He had never been turned down before, not even once and it was a strange feeling. He watched Tenten walk away from him with a frown on his face, before he rather aimlessly began to head in the direction of the bar.

Mikoto had watched the scene unfold in front of her with extreme interest. It appeared to her that Tenten was a very unusual girl in that she seemed almost immune to her son. A slow smile began to form on her face as she decided she needed to get better acquainted with her.

Remembering the girl she had used as bait to get him to speak to Tenten, she turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"Sasuke appears to be occupied right now, maybe some other time," she told her gently and watched her walk away disappointed she didn't get a chance to dance with Sasuke.

* * *

"You love him, don't you?" Shino's question was more of a statement as he looked down at her through his ever present shades.

Hinata smiled up at him, grateful that she didn't have to explain her relationship to Itachi to him. He had already figured it out for himself. That was one of the things she had always liked about Shino, he was always observing the people around him and was usually right in his conclusions.

"Yes, we are going to get married in a few months."

Shino looked down at her and was glad for her, because she was like a sister to him and unlike Kiba, his interest in her had always been platonic.

"He seems to care about you, I have been watching him and his eyes never leave you," he concluded with slightly knowing look.

Biting her lower lip happily, Hinata suppressed an ecstatic grin as she had known all along he was watching her and in doing so, he had ended all of the speculation that still remained about their relationship.

She looked over to the corner of the room and saw he had left.

"My turn, I believe." She heard his voice say firmly behind her as she felt his hand resting a little possessively on her shoulder.

Shino nodded when she turned to him with eyes that thanked him for more than just the dance. With a formal bow directed toward Itachi, Shino turned and walked away.

Hinata turned to him and breathed out in relief as she set her hand on his shoulder and looked up tenderly into his dark eyes. The music started up again and they began to move together as the melody flowed around them.

Hinata leaned forward and sighed as she was exactly where she had wanted to be all night...with him, with his arms around her.

She snuggled closer to him and his hands began to weave a sensual spell on her as he gently caressed the nape of her neck, while his other hand floated lazily down her spine. Delicious warmth began to course through her and almost unconsciously she pressed herself closer to him.

Feeling a little reckless and wondering if he had any idea of what he was doing to her, she met his eyes and knew he wanted her just as much.

"Itachi?" She asked him in confusion as she felt in some small way he was exerting a subtle pressure over her that she didn't quite understand.

Suddenly Hinata felt it was almost unnaturally quiet around them and she looked around and saw several pairs of gawking eyes were watching them.

Hinata looked up at him in frustration before she activated her Byakugan and searched for some place they could be alone without an audience watching their every move.

Unfortunately, she could only find one place that was isolated and acceptable to her and…that was her bedroom.

Feeling a little daring she whispered for him to follow her and ignored the small raise of his eyebrows. Hinata placed her hand in his and led him towards her bedroom.

When they got there they didn't even bother to turn on the lights and his arms immediately dragged her into his chest, his mouth came down on hers as the desire they had been holding back for weeks threatened to consume them.

A slim thread of honor forced Itachi to break away from her before it was too late. He released her and she stepped back from him gasping for air and tripped over a solid object on the floor and landed flat on her back on the bed.

Itachi turned on the light and Hinata's eyes fell on the backpack near her bed with a small note attached to it.

Feeling curious, Hinata read the note from her sister.

_Hinata, don't worry about our family is going to say—just go with him. I love you, Hanabi._

Her face was slightly flushed and her heart was beginning to race when she finally figured out what was going on.

She raised her eyes toward his and felt a shiver run all through her when she saw he was looking at her in a way she had never seen before.

"Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?" He said to her, his voice was quiet, almost solemn.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat when she felt him move closer to her and place his hands around her face. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she looked up at him with equal intensity. "Yes," she answered, her voice broke. "Because, I feel the same way about you."

He breathed out a little more relaxed and rested his forehead against hers.

"Then marry me tonight. I don't see any reason why we need to wait," he told her with an implacable look on his face.

Hinata's first thought was of her promise to her father to wait for two months. Itachi bent his head and began kissing her eyes and then her mouth and her thoughts began to become tangled and disorganized.

She closed her eyes and tried to think hard of a reason why they shouldn't get married tonight. She knew, of course, there would be a small scandal but if Itachi didn't mind, then she shouldn't worry about it either.

A thought suddenly occurred to her and she backed away from him a little and looked at him with anxious eyes.

"What about the Hokage, how does she feel about this?" She asked him, worried that the scandal from their elopement could harm his chances to become Hokage at the end of the year.

A tiny knowing smile played over his mouth as he looked at her. The Hokage had ordered him to take two weeks off earlier today and gave him her blessing. She even told him about a marriage chapel that was open all night.

"She doesn't have a problem with it," he responded flatly as his eyes watched her reaction carefully. "If you aren't ready, then I will wait."

Lowering her eyes from his, they fell to the note her sister left her and she realized Hanabi was right, she didn't owe her clan anything. She felt all the obstacles in her mind began to vanish as all of their plans for her didn't matter anymore to her.

Hanabi obviously supported her and Neji probably wouldn't care either. Her father would eventually get over it. A regretful smile played over her mouth as she thought it had been nice to have had his approval for at least one day. But in the end, she would much rather have Itachi.

"No...I don't want to wait; I want to marry you tonight," she told him softly as quiet joy and excitement began to bubble up within her. The breath was almost knocked out of her as his arms clamped around her like steel bands. Releasing a happy sigh, she listened to his steady heart beat as he held her head against his chest.

Hinata's knees almost gave out when he released her and looked at her with ANBU Captain eyes. Now that a decision had been made, Itachi became all action as he suddenly picked up her bag and threw it out the window for them to pick up before they left the compound.

"I will find my brother. You find one person you want to have as a witness and we will meet you both at the gate in fifteen minutes," he directed her before he kissed her swiftly and led her to the doorway.

Hinata's face was glowing as she hurried out of her room and used her Byakugan to locate Tenten. She had decided she would be best to have as her witness, she had been thinking about asking her to be her maid of honor anyway. Besides, with the party going on, she couldn't ask Neji or Hanabi, as they had guests to tend to.

Hanabi and Mikoto hugged each other happily as they watched Hinata and Tenten leave the ballroom secretively.

"Ha! I told you he was going to ask her to elope with him tonight," Mikoto said congratulating herself on knowing her son.

"I am just glad Hinata stopped being so silly about pleasing our father and disobeyed him for once," Hanabi replied in a clearly relieved voice.

Plopping down on a leather couch by the window they both sighed happily. It had been a lot of work bringing those two together but in the end everything turned out perfectly.

Hanabi suddenly looked sad as she realized Hinata was not going to be living here anymore. Mikoto immediately picked up on it, and put her arm around her young friend.

"Don't worry, dearest, she won't leave you completely and now you can call us your family too."

Hanabi let out a shaky sigh as she let Mikoto wrap her arms around her and hold her. She had a feeling she was going to like having a mother-figure in her life. Also, Itachi, even though he was a little bossy, he could show her some awesome jutsu. Her face brightened a little at the thought.

"Thank you Mikoto, I would be glad to have you as part of my family," Hanabi told her in a slightly stilted and formal voice.

_I've always considered you to be part of my family_, Mikoto thought as she looked at Hanabi's solemn young face. However, her eyes soon became worried as she took in the sign above the hallway and the pony running around the ballroom.

She decided it was time someone stood up to the little monster before she got completely out of control. Her father obviously didn't know how to handle her. Well, she was made of much sterner stuff and knew exactly what needed to be done to get the young girl back in line.

An expression came over Mikoto's face that both Itachi and Sasuke knew very well and even now, did not even consider disobeying her whenever they saw it.

Hanabi's eyes opened wide with surprise as she wondered where her fun-loving friend went.

"Good Hanabi, because I want you to put that filthy animal outside of the house right now…and clean up all of the messes it has made in the ballroom," Mikoto ordered her in her sternest mother's voice.

For a moment Hanabi looked rebellious and a small pout formed on her lips but a glance at Mikoto's face told her that disobeying her would be a very unwise decision for her to make.

Hanabi gulped and paled slightly as she knew what the woman was capable of. Mikoto was one of the few people on earth she respected absolutely. Most of the other people around her were idiots or too nice like her sister.

"Fine," she muttered glumly as got up from the couch and went to go look for her pony.

Mikoto watched her walk away, _sorry dearest; it is for your own good, _she thought before leaving to find Fugaku and make him dance with her.

* * *

Itachi waited outside the gate with his backpack hanging from his arm as he stood next to his brother.

"So, you are really going through with it," Sasuke stated as he shook his head a little in disbelief. A part of him had always thought his brother would never get married. Itachi just never seemed interested, especially when he knew the clan had him as a spare in case something ever happened to him.

"Yes," Itachi answered almost absently as he watched Hinata and Tenten run down the path with Hinata carrying her backpack behind her.

"Ready?" He asked her calmly as he stretched out his hand towards hers.

"Yes," she replied with a shaky laugh as she still couldn't believe she was doing something so…well, scandalous. She placed her hand in his and began to walk beside him.

Tenten mentally groaned when she saw Sasuke standing next to Itachi and realized she had to walk next to him. She had been hoping after she had rejected him on the dance floor, she wouldn't have to see him anymore—at least not for a long, long time.

As she walked next to him in tortuous silence she felt it was almost as bad as having to listen to one of her sensei's lectures. No, she decided, this was worse; at least when she listened to Gai-sensei's lectures she could tune him out.

* * *

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the owner of the wedding chapel proclaimed with a beaming smile as Itachi broke with cultural tradition and lightly kissed his wife in front of everyone.

Tenten's eyes were unusually misty as she saw how much the new bride and groom loved each other. Out of everyone she knew in Konoha, Hinata deserved to be happy the most. Smiling to herself she glanced over at Sasuke and was surprised at the unguarded look on his face as he stared at his older brother.

It became obvious to her; Sasuke cared a great deal about his brother. A tiny part of her almost felt a little bad for her behavior towards him earlier.

After congratulating the bride and groom they all walked over to sign the register and in a flash Itachi and Hinata took off after barely even saying goodbye.

With an amused smile at the newlyweds obvious desire to be alone, she glanced over at Sasuke and saw he was watching her with unreadable look on his face. Now that they were alone, the atmosphere suddenly became a little tense.

"Come on, I will walk you home," Sasuke told her coolly, as he turned to leave. His mother would be pissed at him if he let her walk home by herself.

Tenten wanted to refuse at first, knowing that she was well able to take care of herself, but the implacable look in his eyes told her he would just follow her if she tried to go off on her own.

"Fine, thank you," she told him in a distant voice as she followed him out the door…

* * *

In the elevator at the Konoha Arms Hotel, Hinata looked down at the plain gold band nestled next to her engagement ring on her finger and sighed with contentment. _Itachi and I are married..._

_Oh my! I'm actually…MARRIED_, she thought becoming increasingly hysterical as her brain inevitably thought about what was going to happen between them next.

The elevator chimed as it stopped at their floor on the top of the hotel. They were going to stay the night in the penthouse suite; it was a gift from the Hokage. The owners of the hotel kept it available for whenever foreign dignitaries visited Konoha, so she had asked them to keep it available for them in case they needed it tonight.

Itachi opened the door and Hinata's knees began to shake slightly as nerves began to overtake her. She suddenly felt way out of her league in so many ways as she followed him inside the luxuriously appointed suite.

After setting down her backpack, she looked around the room and vaguely noticed the room was very modern and tastefully decorated in earth tones. Trying to calm her nerves, she wandered over to the huge window and gasped slightly in awe when she saw the beautiful view they had of Konoha at night.

Itachi came up silently behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and she automatically felt herself tense up under his hands.

"Nervous?" He asked her as his hands began to knead her shoulders and the nape of her neck.

"Yes," she admitted feeling slightly awkward because he was just so much more experienced than she was. She couldn't help feeling that everything was happening way too fast between them.

"Don't be," he told her flatly in an unemotional voice. "Nothing has changed between us except for a piece of paper telling us we are married."

Hinata closed her eyes and almost laughed at just how unromantic and pragmatic he was, she felt some of her fears began to melt away.

As he turned her around to face him she felt a thrill of nervous excitement run through her as she stared into his eyes and recognized the intent in them.

He was going to make love to her.

"Itachi?" She said hesitantly as she lowered her eyes before him. "I've never done this before."

"I know" he told her in an impassive voice as he began to remove the hair pins from her hair one by one. A warm light shone in his onyx eyes as they watched her hair fall in silky waves around her face and over her shoulders.

Hinata felt herself become a little warm as she felt there was something almost seductive in the way he looked at her and touched her.

"I like your hair better this way," he told her as he placed his hand gently at the nape of her neck. With a soft catch in her throat she leaned her head back against his hand and closed her eyes. He lowered his mouth onto hers and began to kiss her with deliberate slowness, keeping his mouth exquisitely light and undemanding as it moved over hers in a kiss that was almost endless.

Reassured that he wasn't going to rush her into anything too soon, Hinata moved closer to him and slid her hands around his shoulders. Feeling her relax against him, Itachi tightened his arm around her waist and his lips began to move a little more insistently against hers.

_Oh kami!_

A gasp escaped her when she felt his kiss become increasingly intimate as his mouth began to slowly explore hers with his tongue. He drew her tighter against him as his hands began to move languidly over her.

Soon, a stormy rush of sensation began to flood over her making her want to cling to him...burying his hands in her hair, Itachi's his mouth became even more sensual as it moved over hers. She shivered and moved closer to him, she began to feel as if she couldn't get enough of him.

Feeling things were beginning to move to fast, Itachi lifted his mouth off of hers. He looked down at her and watched her face closely as her eyes fluttered open a little dazed looking and her breath came out in small gasps.

Itachi's hand twined with hers and she stared up at him with eyes full of heated emotion.

"Let's get ready for bed," he told her as his eyes searched hers to see if she was ready.

Hinata released a shaky breath, before a helpless smile began to form on her face. "Okay."

Itachi smiled slowly in reply before kissing the throbbing pulse at the base of her neck. "I will wait for you…"

After closing the bathroom door behind her, Hinata released a deeply flustered breath. She looked in the mirror and barely recognized the person she saw in it. Raising a shaky hand to her face she lightly touched her swollen lips and brushed over her flushed skin with eyes full of wonder.

Just thinking about the way he had kissed her made her face begin to heat up and she lifted her hand and began to fan herself.

Pulling herself together, Hinata realized he was waiting for her so she quickly washed her face with cold water and began brushing her teeth. After she was done she opened up her backpack and received a bit of a surprise as there was hardly anything of hers that she recognized.

Reaching inside she pulled out a note from Mikoto. As she began to read it her eyes grew misty as a choked up smile came over her face. _Oh Mikoto! _

_~Dearest, I couldn't be happier, my greatest wish has come true! I have wanted you for a daughter for so long. _

_Now, before you get all worried about what your father thinks about your eloping with my son, I think you should know that he and your mother did the same thing over twenty years ago. (I know, pretty shocking huh? I thought so too at the time) So anyway, my dear, just relax and have fun! _

_By now, you have probably noticed that we only packed a few of your own things and that most of the clothes are new. They are a gift from Tsunade, me and your sister. The night-gown is from me—wear it tonight, trust me in this…Itachi is going to adore you in it. _

_Enjoy your honeymoon, I am insanely jealous of where he is taking you, but I won't spoil the surprise…Love, Mom.~ _

Hinata stared at the note and read the top part again; she could hardly believe that her father had actually eloped with her mother. She was shocked and she definitely felt relieved that her elopement wasn't going to upset him as much as she thought it would.

Reaching inside the back pack she found the lilac night gown and breathed out softly in awe at how soft if was, it was like touching a whisper. She lifted it up and a blushed formed on her face when she saw it was completely transparent. Even though it had little panties with it, it wasn't going to cover up anything.

Hinata took a deep breath and tried to build up her courage to wear such a thing in front of him. It just wasn't her, to flaunt herself in front of others. She couldn't even bring herself to wear a bikini like the other girls did, she always wore one-piece bathing suits.

Shaking her head wryly, she decided it had better at least try it on. Hurrying and taking off the evening gown, she slipped the lingerie on and was stunned out how…um different it made her look.

She never realized she could look so…sexy. Part of her began to think that maybe just this once she could do something... so daring.

Opening up the door before she could change her mind she stepped out into the room and almost laughed when she saw he wasn't there. Taking a deep calming breath she walked around the corner and stopped when she saw he was bent over the kitchen sink brushing his teeth.

Hinata forgot what she was wearing and felt her body become warm and flustered as her eyes drank in how splendid he looked in only black shorts without a shirt on.

She still couldn't believe that he belonged to her. Hinata put her hand over her racing heart and took a deep calming breath.

Glancing over at Itachi, she saw he had turned around and was staring at her with a glittering intensity in his dark eyes.

Blushing deeply, Hinata stood still and lowered her eyes to the floor.

"You are beautiful, Hinata," she heard him tell her as he came closer to her. The warm timbre of his voice stirred her and she closed her eyes as she felt his hands slide over her shoulders.

She felt his lips brush over hers and she opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Hinata," he whispered to her and his eyes as they looked at her were almost solemn.

"For what?" She asked, a little unsure of why he was thanking her.

"For wearing that for me, it shows me you trust me."

Hinata closed her eyes and melted as she loved the way his brain worked. She couldn't imagine any other man saying something like that. He just understood her so well.

"For some reason…I've always trusted you," she admitted to him as a soft smile touched her mouth.

"I know," he told her and knew it was the same for him as he lowered his mouth closer to hers. With a sigh, Hinata closed the gap and pulled him towards her.

**Author's Note**: OMK, this chapter was so long but I am finally done! I have a small epilogue with a couple of honeymoon scenes that I have had in my head for a long time that I will post as an epilogue, but they will be so short, I can't really call it a chapter.

**Lurkers**: I know you people are out there, I have had over 26,000 hits on this story and I would love it, if some of you would please leave me some feedback. It would really bless me. Thanks.

**Faithful Readers**: I plan to thank a great many of you when I post the epilogue, I would have never finished this thing without your encouragement. Okay, I am getting a little choked up here…

**Apologies**: I think I pushed the T rating about as far as I could with this chapter and I am sorry if it bothered anyone:(

**Sequel?: **Yes, there is going to be one. I have definitely decided on SasuTen and some Itahina. Some of epilogue is going to play a part in it. If you are interested in the sequel just add me to your author's alert.

Okay you guys, leave me lots of feedback (good or bad) and I will post the epilogue tomorrow…(It is all up to you:]


	23. Chapter 23

**Not So Subtle Differences**

**~Epilogue (Extra Scenes…Whatever)~**

* * *

_**Dedication: **_

"_Your story confirms what I have always known to be true: If they had met, Itachi and Hinata would gravitate towards each other. Like moths to flames. Like moon to earth. Earth to sun, whatever. I love the atmosphere of this story: calm, solemn, melancholic, romantic, seemingly endless but with that tint of desperation and time-running-out. It's like the fling of a lifetime." Hewhoistomriddle, review on Way of Tea._

_I just want to thank Hewhoistomriddle for those lovely words she wrote on a review for "Way of Tea." When I read them a few months ago, it got me thinking what if…Itachi and Hinata met in a setting where Itachi's not a criminal and dying and everything is peaceful in Konoha…and try to make an Itahina fic that is not tragic, but actually fun…OMK, it was definitely fun for me, even if I did veer out into hewhoistomriddle's cracky domain a few times lol (read Treasure and Epitome and you will see she practically owns the copyright to crack-fics ha, ha.) Anyway, thank you so much for all of your support on this story, I think you are one of the best writers on this site, so it means a lot to me that you read my stories. Arigato F~ _

* * *

It was hot and Hinata felt like she was dying. Using the back of her hand she wiped the beads of sweat off of her brow. Looking around with tired eyes she felt like she was in the middle of nowhere. Even though it was almost dusk and the sun was no longer beating straight down on them, she could still see the intense heat rising up from the sandy ground.

Her feet were burning and she felt several blisters were already forming from the darling, but highly impractical sandals Mikoto had packed for her. While the adorable little shorts and tank top she had on made her feel like she was a model in a fashion magazine, they were hardly suitable to be crossing a desert in.

A small rueful smile came to her lips that she had been so caught up in the moment last night when he asked her to elope with him; she never even thought to look to see what had been packed for her.

"How are you doing?" Itachi asked her as he turned concerned eyes towards her.

"I'm fine." She answered automatically as she looked away from him with a blush beginning to creep over her face. Her mind still had not fully assimilated what had happened between them last night. It had all been so new…so incredibly…wonderful.

They had only slept for about an hour when he woke her up early this morning and told her to gather her things, there was somewhere he wanted to take her to.

If it had been left up to her, she would have wanted to stay right where she was, at least for a few days. Just the thought of his amazing body and the way it felt up against hers was practically consuming her, turning her into someone she didn't recognize. It was as if he had turned a switch on in her mind that made it impossible for her to think of anything other than…

_Sex_, her mind whispered shockingly.

Even now in the middle of this burning hot desert, all she could think of was the way he made love to her last night and well…early this morning too (insert blush).

And dear_ Kami_, the way he had touched and kissed her! It was just so intimate and so intensely wild and sweet. He made her whole body seem to melt and burn and…_oh, _she released a shaky breath and looked away from him.

Adjusting her backpack on her back slightly, she lifted a weak hand and began to fan her flushed face.

Itachi bit back a smile as he knew what was inflicting his little bride as he was suffering from the same thing. Unfortunately, the cure for both of them would have to wait until later. There was somewhere he wanted to take her and it was on the way to their destination.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hinata stumble a little beside him, he automatically put a hand under her elbow to steady her.

"Are you alright?" He asked her as he turned to look at her with one eyebrow slightly raised.

Hinata met his eyes before her gaze slid to the ground. "I'm fine…really," she responded a little breathlessly as she couldn't keep from wincing.

Itachi looked at her feet and his lips grew tight, he released a frustrated sigh. She should have told him her feet were hurting her.

He dropped his backpack on the ground and Hinata yelped a little as he pulled her down on it. Kneeling down next to her he pulled off one of her sandals and saw her foot had several painful-looking blisters on the bottom of it.

Itachi sighed as he looked at her, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hinata looked away from him, "Hyuugas' never complain," she mumbled her family's mantra.

Itachi shook his head in annoyance and pulled off her other sandal and saw this foot looked just like the other one.

"You are no longer a Hyuuga," he reminded her firmly as he began to apply soothing healing chakra to her foot. "… and I expect you to tell me when something is bothering you."

Hinata closed her eyes as the way he was holding her feet was so gentle, it was the exact opposite of the firm tone he was using with her. She breathed out a harsh sigh as she knew he was right, it was just so hard for her to speak up for herself. Her whole life as a Hyuuga and as a ninja had trained her to keep silent and never complain; to her it was a sign of weakness to complain—and that wasn't acceptable in her family.

She met his eyes and his expression told her he was serious.

"I-I will try," she promised and knew this was going to be hard for her, but if he wanted her to do it, then she would try her best.

"B-but, I will want you to do…the same for me," Hinata told him hesitantly, knowing also that he had the same problem she did. In the short time she has known him; she had never once heard him complain, not even when all of those ninjas were trying to depants him for the ANBU challenge.

Itachi picked up her other foot and began healing it. He kept his eyes on what he was doing and was forced to admit to himself that he was the same as her. He couldn't even remember when he had ever complained about anything. He just dealt with things on his own; it was just who he was.

"Fine," he replied flatly when he realized he had no choice but to do the same for her.

Hinata gave him a soft smile. "Thank you, Itachi."

"You're welcome," he told her as he picked up her shoes and handed them to her with a slight frown. "Don't you have something else you can wear with you?"

Hinata shook her head with a wry little smile. "Well, no, um…your mother packed for me," she told him as she put them back on her feet.

Itachi rolled his eyes as that explained everything. "You should be fine, we are almost there."

"Okay," she said as she stood up and noticed her feet felt so much better. Anticipation began to build in her as she wondered where _there_ was…

It was almost dark when they finally made it to the town. But even though she couldn't see that well, Hinata could tell the place was very rundown and appeared to be practically inhabited. Part of her wondered what possible reason her new husband could have for bringing her here.

"Um Itachi, what is this place?"

"It is the town of Sora-ku," he responded in a neutral voice. "Our clan stores its munitions and supplies here."

"Munitions?" She repeated, now completely baffled why he was bringing her here on their honeymoon of all things. The place was beginning to creep her out and almost unconsciously she moved closer to him.

"You'll see," he told her with a small knowing look as he took her hand and led her through the old gate.

Hinata's nostril twitched as she almost sneezed because the dank smell of the underground tunnel they were in almost reminded her of a sewer. It was stuffy too and she was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic.

She was about to ask him if they were almost there, when she saw two adorable looking cats, dressed in clothing in front of them.

"It's been a long time, Denka, Hina." She heard Itachi say, and was a little surprised that his greeting was more familiar than usual.

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise when the two cats bowed before him and began _talking_ to him.

"Itachi-sama, what brings you here, mew?" Denka asked him.

"My father wanted me to check up on you and give you a list of munitions we need," he told him and then he looked over at Hinata with a small knowing smile on his face. "I also wanted to introduce all of you to my wife."

"Wife?" Hina said obviously surprised. "Meow, Granny-cat will definitely want to meet her. Come along…"

"Wait," Denka said as he sat up and put a paw in the air. "Did you bring us a gift?"

"Of course," Itachi replied stoically as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of catnip and set it before the cats.

"Meow... good," Denka said as Hina picked up the bottle in her mouth. "Follow us; we will take you to her."

As they followed the talking cats, Hinata was almost beside herself with excitement. She just loved kitty cats and these ones talked!

"Are they ninja cats?" She whispered to him.

"Yes."

The cats led them into a huge room and Hinata could see there were supplies all around and in the middle of the room was an old woman with fake cat ears on her head, smoking a pipe.

A soft delighted noise escaped Hinata when she saw the old woman was surrounded by cats, several of them, and some were still little kittens.

Standing a little behind Itachi she watched as he bowed respectfully in front of the old woman. "It is good to see you again, Granny-cat."

"Same to you Itachi-sama, your parents and brother are well, I hope?" She asked him as she idly stroked the fur of the tabby cat she was holding on her lap.

"Yes, Granny-cat they are, in fact my father wanted me to see how you were doing and give you this list of supplies we will need this spring," he informed her as he handed her the list and some money to pay for it.

Hinata was overjoyed when several of the cats and kittens came over to her and surrounded her. Kneeling down, she reached out with a tentative hand and began to pet a few of them and they were soon climbing all over her like she was their own private jungle-jim. Her face was wreathed in smiles as she felt like she was in cat heaven.

"And who do we have here?" Granny-cat asked him with mildly curious eyes as she looked over at Hinata.

"This is my wife, Hinata." Itachi replied formally as he helped untangle his bride from all of the cats and led her over to the old woman. As Hinata came closer the old woman's eyebrows lifted up in surprise.

"Ah, a Hyuuga. Well, well, an interesting choice Itachi-san. I cannot wait to see the little ones the two of you produce," she told him with an amused chuckle.

"Granny-cat-san, I am pleased to make your acquaintance," Hinata said a little timidly with a small blush as she bowed very respectfully before her.

The old lady looked her over for a moment before she smiled in approval. "My family likes you, they can always tell when someone loves them," she told her kindly before directing a hard glance over at Itachi who didn't have a single cat near him.

"Isn't that right, Tamaki?" She said loudly as she motioned to a young woman who Hinata guessed was around her age.

"Yes Granny," she said cheerfully, agreeing with her with a firm nod of her head.

Hinata smiled happily, "Oh, I do love them," she replied in a quiet emphatic voice as she picked up one of the little ones purring around her ankle and began cuddling it. "B-but my father doesn't like animals… so he never let me have one."

Granny-cat almost looked affronted when she heard that and she stared at Hinata in a considering manner for a moment. "Well then, I will have to give you one as a wedding gift," she told them as she puffed on her pipe and looked over at Itachi with a slightly devious grin on her face.

Itachi blanched at the thought of having a mangy cat in his house, his mind automatically wanted to decline. But as he looked over at his wife's glowing face, he knew the old woman had him over a barrel…

There was no way he could say no to her; he had to let her have a cat.

"One of my cats recently had a litter, they should be able to leave their mother in a week or so, you may pick one of them." The old woman told them and motioned for Tamaki to take them to the kittens.

"How are you Itachi-sama?" The young woman asked shyly as they walked across the room.

"Fine," he replied and introduced Hinata to her as she took them to a room that had five little kittens in it. Itachi saw with a sinking feeling in his gut that the mother cat was a Persian with lots of long dark gray hair.

Hinata looked at all of them with a soft expression on her face and would have loved to have all of them. Three of the kittens were white with some gray and one of them was all gray and the last one was gray with black stripes on it like a tiger cat. She picked up that one because it was sleeping and it looked so calm.

Even though she was completely absorbed in the kittens as she cooed and played with all of them, something made her look over at Itachi and saw his expression looked normal, but to her it almost looked too normal. Her shoulders drooped slightly when she could tell he was hiding his emotions from her.

Cuddling the adorable and purring kitten to her chest, she knew she had to make up some excuse and refuse. She didn't have to be a genius to know Itachi would absolutely hate having a cat in his house. With a sigh, she placed the kitten back on the ground next to the others.

"Hinata?" Itachi asked her with a slight frown when he saw she wasn't going to choose one of the kittens. "Don't you want one?"

She bit her lip and tried to look cheerful. "Um, not right now, I want to get settled with you first," she prevaricated telling him only part of the truth and stepped out of the room to tell Granny-cat that she couldn't accept her gift right now.

"Tamaki, after we leave, tell Granny-cat we will stop by in a few weeks after our vacation and pick up the gray-striped one," Itachi told her quietly.

"Aw, that is so nice you; I can tell Hinata-san really likes cats..." she said before giggling in a knowing way. "...and you don't."

"Just tell her, Tamaki-san."

"I will, Itachi-sama," she replied with a soft smile and then began to blush. "Could you please tell Sasuke-kun, I said hello when you see him again."

Itachi nodded firmly and then went to go say goodbye to Granny-cat and to see if she had some more practical ninja sandals for Hinata to wear on the rest of their journey.

Hinata was a little down as they left, but her feet felt better after Itachi had bought her some comfortable ninja sandals more like the ones she was used to wearing.

She placed her hand gently around his and looked over at him. "Thank for bringing me here, I like how your clan is allied with ninja cats."

"I thought you would like to meet them and it was on our way," he responded impassively with a small shrug of his shoulders.

Hinata smiled, _well,_ _I still thought it was sweet of you_, she thought as she looked at him with a sideways glance before looking at the ground in front of her. _I just wish I could have taken one home with me and… you were more open with me._

Even though she knew he was more open with her than he was with most people, she knew this was probably something they were going to have to spend a lifetime together on.

They walked out of the tunnel in silence.

After they reached the gate, Itachi turned toward her with assessing eyes before asking her, "Do you mind if we push it the rest of the way? I don't want to miss our boat."

_We are going on a boat!_ She thought excitedly. "Um, I don't mind, I feel fine," she told him, even though she was starving and beginning to feel tired from barely getting any sleep last night and travelling all day.

Itachi looked over at her with approval and something else in his eyes. Hinata saw that look in his eyes and felt her pulse begin to speed up.

He kissed her hard and quick before they took off, they didn't have time to do anything else.

Hinata stepped off of the huge passenger boat and saw there was a smaller one waiting for them and the captain of it had a long pole in his hand.

"Are you alright?" She asked Itachi and had noticed on the journey over; he didn't talk much and looked uncomfortable. A small shocked smile formed on her face when she saw him eyeing the smaller boat almost with reluctance.

"I'm fine," he replied stoically.

"You get sea-sick, don't you?" Hinata whispered to him as they stepped into the small boat and put their backpacks down by their feet. She bit back a smile because she also felt a little sorry for him.

"Yes," he admitted irritably, his weakness always bothered him. He was just glad the trip was going to be a short one, as he could see the island they were going on was just across the channel.

Halfway there he was feeling very ill and he was doing everything possible to keep from throwing up. Hinata kept looking over at him with compassionate eyes as she held his hand. The ocean was a little choppy and it took them longer to get there than normal.

"Oh!" Hinata exclaimed out as a large splash of water came over her side of the boat and drenched her. Itachi looked over at her and Hinata began to laugh in frustration as it just seemed she was always getting something all over her.

"Well, at least it is warm out tonight," she said in a cheerful voice even as she shivered a little.

"We are almost there," he told her as he put his arm around her and pointed toward the island.

She looked at their destination in the darkness and gasped in pleasure as she could see lit up against the hillside was a large mediterranean style hotel overlooking the ocean. Around the hotel grounds were several small villas with private patios and balconies and all of them had stone steps that led down to the sandy white beach below.

"Oh Itachi, it is so beautiful here," she breathed out in awe as she looked at him.

The corner of his mouth uplifted as he looked at her and reached out and pushed some of her wet hair off of her face.

"I am glad you like it," he told her and was relieved to see they had made it to shore. Reaching out a hand, he helped Hinata get out of the boat.

As they stepped onto the front porch of their lovely villa they both breathed out a sigh of relief. They were both exhausted. Hinata was wet and tired and she felt gritty as sand had blown over her and was sticking in her wet hair and well…all over her.

Itachi was tired and irritated because when he checked them in, he found out the Hokage had sent a message to the resort owners telling them he would pay for her gambling debts from her last visit. Even though he had anticipated that she would try something like that, it still annoyed him.

He opened the door and turned on one of the lights and Hinata's tired face lit up as she took in the lovely villa with its natural stone floors, softly flowing white sheer curtains that went all the way down to the floor. The small villa was decorated in a way that was light and airy, immediately making one feel at peace.

To him, the look on her face made all the things they went through today worth it.

A soft light came into his eyes as he watched her head into the bedroom with the connecting bathroom to get cleaned up. All day long there had been a sense between both of them that they were waiting—waiting for this moment…

Itachi opened the door to the bathroom and saw she was already taking a shower. After brushing his teeth, he stripped off his clothes and opened the shower door and stepped inside with her.

As soon as Hinata heard him open the door, a sense of relief flooded through her, she had been hoping he would join her. When his lips touched hers, she knew this was what she had been waiting for all day.

* * *

She woke up to the scent of jasmine; and the soft clicking of a bamboo ceiling fan as it gently rotated and wafted a light breeze over the room. Squinting her eyes a little, she could see the early morning light peeking through the closed shutters on the bedroom window.

A lovely sense of well being came over her as she saw on the bed beside her lay her husband; his nearly black hair was a stark contrast against the soft white and beige tones of the linens around him.

Hinata's face softened as she watched his even breathing and saw he was still sleeping. Her eyes glanced at a clock on a dresser across the room and saw it was still very early. A contented and lazy sigh left her as she snuggled closer to him and remembered that they were on their honeymoon and they didn't have to get up if they didn't want to.

As she felt his arm come around her and pull her closer to him, she smiled and her last thought before she began to drift back asleep was about getting out and exploring and seeing everything...

Itachi's hand began to slide over her stomach slowly and soon thoughts of sleeping or doing anything else were far from her mind.

A few hours later Hinata woke up and reaching out a searching hand she felt his side of the bed was empty. Stretching her arms out lazily she looked around and could tell by the light in the room it was almost afternoon time.

Her body felt deliciously languid but her stomach was telling her she needed to get up and eat something right now. She hurried into the bathroom and put on a peach colored camisole and some tan shorts. After going into the main part of the villa she headed out the French doors onto the patio and felt like she stepped out into a private paradise.

Her eyes grew wide as they took in the stunningly lovely stone patio surrounded by a profusion of brightly colored potted flowers. Connected to the patio was small slanted stone swimming pool that didn't have steps, instead it sloped downhill and the water gradually grew deeper as you walked out into it. Tucked in next to it, was an in-ground Jacuzzi.

Wearing only black shorts and seated at a small iron wrought table, Itachi was watching her reaction to the place with a profound sense of satisfaction.

"Oh Itachi, I love it here," Hinata told him in softly awed tones as she stepped out onto the balcony to look at the ocean. Lifting her face towards the sun she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply the sea air intermingled with the scent of flowers.

"How long do we get to stay here?" She asked him in a quiet voice and prayed it would be more than just a few days.

"Two weeks," he told her with a half smile as he admired the way the sun glinted off her hair as she looked around her.

Hinata breathed out happily and her eyes were delighted when she came over to him and kissed him.

She laughed when he pulled her into his lap; but before long her eyes grew huge as she saw the enormous breakfast on the table in front of him. Her mouth began to water when she saw the platters of delectable-looking fruit, pastries, toast and a pitcher of fresh orange juice.

Itachi watched in amusement as his starving bride quickly removed herself from his lap and sat in the chair next to him and began loading up a plate. After pouring some orange juice in a glass for herself, she automatically refilled his.

Hinata set the pitcher down and looked at him with shining and slightly curious eyes, "How did you learn about this place?"

"The Hokage told me about it," he replied blandly before taking a drink of his orange juice. "Apparently, it is an exclusive resort that was created a few years ago for the leaders of the ninja world to meet and try to resolve problems in a more relaxed, less formal setting."

Fascinated and impressed, Hinata raised her eyebrows as she thought a place like this _was_ a good idea to help keep everything peaceful. Especially as she considered the last few years of peace in their world, she realized it must be working.

"It was pretty thoughtful of Lady Tsunade to send us here," she mused out loud as she took a bite of one her pastries.

Itachi didn't want to tell her the other reason the Hokage sent them here was to force him to pay off her gambling debts, he didn't want to disillusion her view of their leader.

They ate their breakfast in a relaxed and contented silence, and Hinata tried not to think about the way his foot was caressing hers under the table or the lazy way he was watching her.

Warmth began to creep up her cheeks as she took a few more bites and found she wasn't hungry any more. She pushed her plate away and looked over at him and attempted to make conversation with him.

"So, I was thinking that we could um…go explore the island this morning…" she began telling him and her breath caught in her throat when he reached over and began sliding his thumb over the pulse on the base of her wrist.

After lifting her eyes toward the sky, her eyes met his and he raised one eyebrow calmly telling her he was listening.

Feeling an irrational urge to laugh, Hinata took a shaky breath before continuing. "Um well, I noticed there are a bunch….of trails… and I thought we could go hike to the other side of the island...and look at the view."

The corner of her lip began to turn up slightly as she saw he had silently moved his chair closer towards hers while she was talking.

"Yes, we could do that…" he responded agreeing with her, before his mouth began to trail light kisses up her arm. "Or…we could stay here…" Itachi told her, his voice clearly letting her know what he preferred.

Hinata melted in her chair; after all of the years of neglect from her father and feeling unwanted by her clan, it felt wonderful to have someone care for her and want her so much. Here they had a beautiful island to explore and none of it mattered to him, he only wanted to be with her.

Laughter bubbled in her as she felt herself hauled back onto his lap. With her eyes shining with joy, Hinata twined her arms around his neck, "We could do that," she told him with a playful smile touching her lips. "It's too warm... to explore right now anyway."

A small gleam entered his eyes as he looked at her. "We could go later if you want to…" he compromised before brushing his lips over hers back and forth in a light, teasing kiss.

"Mmm," Hinata sighed against his mouth as she began to respond to him. All thoughts of going anywhere else rapidly were disintegrating from her mind as she began to cling to him as their playfulness rapidly turned into desire.

He lifted his mouth off of hers and as they looked at each other they shared a smile as they both knew they weren't going anywhere for quite a while…

* * *

The sun was going down and Hinata sat in front of him on a large lounge chair in a bikini (Mikoto didn't pack any of her one piece bathing suits for her) on the secluded beach in front of their villa.

They were sipping frozen daiquiris' and Hinata wasn't sure what was making her feel more relaxed, the delicious alcoholic drink or the incredibly breathtaking scene in front of them. Or it could have been the soft breeze that flowed over them as they watched the waves break along the shore against a pure blue sky backdrop mixed with a kaleidoscope of colors.

It could have been all those things, but she had a feeling it was mainly because of him. Just being with him was making her feel so peaceful and amazingly happy.

"Itachi?" She asked him as she absently rubbed her finger down his forearm. "Are you awake?"

His eyes remained closed, but his lips quirked slightly as he felt her hand tangle with his. "Do you want me to be?"

She smiled thinking it was nice to see him so relaxed for once, "Yes…I was just wondering…what made you come up to me that day in the library when you first helped me with my medical training?"

Itachi thought about how she looked on that day, she was so anxious and frustrated and it had bothered him. Even though he had admired her for a while, he had never seriously planned to get involved with her. Without even knowing exactly why he had done it, he just went over to her and offered his help.

"You looked like you needed help," he responded impassively without even opening his eyes.

A soft smile formed on her lips as his unromantic answer did not surprise her, he was always helping her.

A small sigh escaped her as she thought how even now; a part of her was still a little in awe of him. After all, she had to work very hard for everything she got, while practically everything came easily to him. He was just so exceptionally brilliant in so many ways it was hard for her not to be.

Yet he never made her feel inferior, instead he made her feel like she was necessary to him. The way his eyes always searched her out when he entered a room and the way they would stay on her was a constant reminder to her of his feelings for her.

For most of her life she had tried to accommodate the people around her and be the person they thought she should be. It wasn't necessary with him—he liked her the way she was.

To him she was beautiful.

She looked around her and saw all of the beauty around her and thought how he took her to see the kittens and she knew he didn't care about any of it. But he knew she did, so he set all of this up for her.

Just to make her happy.

Hinata's face grew solemn as she thought about how others viewed him and thought him cold and unapproachable, and she knew to some degree they were right. She also knew if he loved you, then his love was unconditional and all encompassing.

He wasn't a person who did things in half-measures—with him it was all or nothing.

It was the same with her, in the beginning she had tried to play it safe and love him just a little but found that it was impossible with him.

She had to love him completely as if the bond between them required everything she had.

Her thoughts grew solemn as she thought of how she almost settled for less in life. Her previous plans were all about conforming herself to fit into someone else's dreams and plans. It had all been about Naruto and his quest to become Hokage.

As she lay up against him and saw that the sky rapidly was growing darker, her mind was deeply grateful for whatever force brought Itachi into her life. She knew whatever dreams or plans she made, he would meld them into his and they would belong to both of them.

He was just wonderful like that.

"Hinata, are you ready to go back?" Itachi asked her as he opened his eyes from resting and saw it was dark outside.

"Yes," she sighed almost reluctantly, it was warm outside and even in the dark it was still very lovely and soothing listening to the waves as they broke along the shore.

"We can come back tomorrow night," he told her as she moved off of him.

Hinata looked at him with soft eyes, "Okay."

Itachi took her hand and they began walking back to their villa.

"Itachi?"

He stopped and turned to her with questioning eyes. "Yes?"

Her eyes lingered over his face for a moment before she answered him. "I'm glad you helped me that day in the library…I-I don't think I could be this happy with anyone else," she admitted quietly as she looked up at him.

He pulled her into his chest and breathed out. "Same here, Hinata."

As he took her hand and they began to walk back to their villa, he was filled with a sense of peace and gratitude for the whim that made him go help her that day. He knew, however, that if he hadn't of helped her on that day, it would have happened eventually.

He wouldn't have been able to resist her…sooner or later he would have talked to her…

FIN

**Author's Note:** Okay this is the end. Instead of a few small scenes it had become a chapter. (I couldn't end it without adding a scene with the kitty cats in it, I always loved that scene in the Manga/Anime with Sasuke and Granny-cat) And I guess I had a hard time saying goodbye to this story; it has been just so much fun...

**Special Thanks:**

**Lady Crack**: Thanks for the lovely and often hilarious reviews you left for me. You have a wonderful way with words and I love your story (Shinobi of Honor) and we share our first name in common, how cool is that! Humble reviewer—I am honored!

**Champylin:** Thanks so much, I am really glad you liked it!

**Onlyluna:** Ha ha, knowing me I probably had a goofy grin on my face as I wrote it. I also agree with you, they don't seem to be the type of characters who would like to be on display in a huge wedding ceremony. Thanks again!

**Ariennel:** Thanks for letting me know you were still reading it. I am glad you liked it:]

**ShadowOwl**: I think you were one of the people who left me feedback on every chapter. Thank you! You always leave me great comments. I have no freakin idea where the pony came in but I could just see Hiashi getting totally pissed at one being in the house lol. Ha ha, I am glad I am not the only one who thought that would be funny.

**Lycoris413:** Thanks so much for letting me know you liked it. I will try to get working on the sequel.

**InsaneNarutard0111:** You have the most hyperactive writing style I have seen, (It is insanely awesome!) I bet you are wonderful with action scenes. Anyway, thanks so much for commenting on all of my chapters. You have been one of the people I have counted on to keep me from getting too out of line. Thanks so much! You rock!

**SilverLunaMoon:** I can just tell you are a really sweet person, thanks so much for all of the lovely feedback you have left me. Arigato:]

**Mysterious-Mind**: Ah my German friend, thanks so much for letting me practice my Deutsche (it is rusty, but has been improving thanks to you). You always leave wonderful comments and insights. I am glad you liked the pony and Mikoto's meddling. She will be involved in the next story but I am going to keep her reigned in a bit so she doesn't become too annoying lol. I am looking forward to SasuTen. I think her character will be able to stand up to Sasuke. It will be a lot different relationship than the one between Itachi and Hinata. Thanks again!

**Luriez Seint:** It has been fun reading your comments and I still don't how you read through all of my stories in one night lol. That was too nice of you. Anyway, I really like your stories and hope all is well with you and your little one. I look forward to reading your stories, you have a terrific imagination.

**Likes To Smile:** I love how you always get what I am trying to get across. You were also one of the people I counted on as I wrote to keep me in line. You have a wonderful writing style and I have been waiting impatiently for you to post a new chapter…

**QuillWriter22:** Thanks so much, I just love Itahina as a couple, I think they are so beautiful and would look stunning together. I am also looking forward to SasuTen, I think they are also going to be great! I appreciate your comments.

**11xNaNx11:** Ha ha, thanks, I am not sure about the British part, I am an American lol but thanks anyway, I am glad you got the tone I was trying to convey. Throughout the story I added in the language, and even in the title to make it very light almost like a Naruto version of regency romance. Well done. In regards to Itachi and Hinata (who both have excellent manners and speech in the Anime) I tried to really show their backgrounds as heirs of their clans etc, while everyone else around them were just a little bit insane. Clap, clap, clap—bravo chap!

**TaiyoukaiMars:** Man, you have left me some awesome reviews with excellent insight. Thanks so much, I am really glad you liked the story. A big Mikoto hug to you!

**Rakero-Chan**: Thanks for letting me know you were still reading it.

**Hinata1020569**: Aw thanks, you are one of the few people who has left me a review on every freakin story I have written. I so appreciate it and I am glad you liked the story!

**EmoGirlxD:** Thanks for the wonderful reviews, you put so much emo/intensity into them, I can almost hear the squeal. Way too cute and funny, I wish I could do that with words lol.

**Sepsis:** LOL, I love how you have always commented or picked up stuff no one else seemed to think was funny. Thanks for getting it, I really appreciate how your mind works!

**Wickedlover-36: **Aw shucks, I am blushing, I am so glad you liked the story! I hope you will be around for the sequel.

**Gwynuvere:** Thanks for leaving letting me know you were still reading NSSD, I will have to get caught up on your story when I get a chance. You have a wonderful writing style, I look forward to reading it.

**KagomeMarie:** I can just tell by your short, sometimes pithy comments that you have a great sense of humor. Thanks for sticking with me and making me laugh.

**DeathbyInk:** Really great name btw=) Thanks Michelle for all of the great and positive reviews you left me. I really appreciate all of them!

**Jay-Boogie: **I am glad you think SasuTen is a good idea, unfortunately not everyone is so enthusiastic about the couple. I think it is going to be fun, especially with a Sasuke-Tenten-Neji triangle. I can't wait to get Gai-sensei and Lee involved. Thanks for always taking the time to review!

**Uchiha-Hime:** I am sorry you don't like Tenten with Sasuke. I really don't know who else to use and I sure as hell won't put him with Ino or Sakura (shudders). And I am not much of an OC person so I have to go with her, sorry. Thanks for all of the reviews you left, I am glad you liked the story.

**Akuma and Tenshi Hana:** I am glad you liked it and thanks so much for always taking the time to let me know if you liked the chapters or not:)

**Wisdom-jewel**: I have to tell you, I feel the same way. I am happy to see it ending because I actually finished something but on the other side I am really going to miss writing the story. I sure hope you will stick around for the sequel…You have left me some really wonderful comments. Thanks!

**I also want to thank:** _Blackmoon124, Maya33, Keco2narutofan, nwyd, Kai-itachi21, WATTA, AnimeXisXmyXstyle, Kichou, Number1Weirdo, Ariennel._

**I have had a great time interacting with and PM'ing all of you, feel free to contact me if you want to talk manga or want me to read your story. I would love it.**

**MangaSpoiler: **(Last one-sob)I thought last manga chapter was super boring and the weird thing is, bee is one of my favorite characters. I hope it gets better and moves away from Naruto back to Sasuke, Madara and Kabuto.

**6/1/10:** I know it is over and all, but I would sincerely love it if you would leave me some feedback. Thanks so much...btw, the sequel is up, it is called Not So Blunt Differences.

4/27/13: Edited. The story has went over 120,000 hits, thanks so much!


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